Victory
by Rainbowhawk1993
Summary: The war is over. The Reapers are destroyed. The galaxy is free. Now after years of fighting and making a difficult final choice, John Shepard awakens to see what the future holds for the galaxy he fought for and what the future holds for him and the one he loves. Post ME3. MaleShep/Liara. (Rated M for intimate descriptions)
1. Chapter 1

_The paths are open. But you have to choose._

This was it. The final step. The key to end it all.

John Shepard looked up at the beam that emanated from the Crucible. After all the hard work, all the twists and turns, seeing all the horrid images of pain, agony and hardship, the key to stop the Reapers was in front of him.

The blue prints of the Crucible spoke of something called the Catalyst. It was said to be the key component in activating the device. What exactly the Crucible would do was anyone's guess. Most, like him, hoped that it would destroy the Reapers once and for all. As war raged across the Galaxy, Shepard got his crew back together and flew across the stars to rally allies to fight the Reapers together. The century-old feuds between many of the species made things very hard for everyone to get along though. But he, John Shepard, managed to pull off so many unbelievable feats to get nearly every specie in the galactic community to fight the Reapers as one.

He never cut corners when it wasn't necessary. When the Dalatrass tried to talk Shepard out of curing the Genophage in exchange for their fleets and their best scientists to build the Crucible, Shepard refused. He did what he did because it was the right thing to do and it would benefit everyone in the long run. Even with the Dalatrass's disappointment and refusal of giving support, some of the Salarians still came to fight alongside the Alliance after the failed Cerberus coup of the council. With the coup, the eyes of the populace of the Citadel were opened to the severity of the war. The populace got to work in helping with the war effort and the Asari and Salarians, even with the disappointment of the Genophage cure, started giving their support for the war effort.

With the Turians, Krogan, Asari, Salarians, Drell, Hannar, Volus, Vorcha, Elcor, and even the Rachnii and Batarians in the bunch, what was next were the Quiarians. Getting their help came at the worst possible time when they got embroiled in conflict with their creations that drove them off of Rannoch so long ago. But Shepard managed to save both the Quairians and freed the Geth from the Reaper that controlled them. In the end, Rannoch was not only reclaimed, but the creators and their creations finally were able to make peace with each other.

With every specie in every corner of the galaxy fighting together, all that mattered now was to figure out what and where the Catalyst was so the Crucible could do whatever it would do. The Asari councilor gave Shepard a potential lead that could help them find it. The secret that the Asari kept hidden was discovered in their most sacred temple. It was an actual Prothean beacon that possessed a VI that contained knowledge of what the Catalyst was. But before the VI could say what it was, it was stolen by the agent of the Illusive Man. Shepard followed him to the heart of Cerberus itself and slew the agent and ultimately put Cerberus out of action. They retrieved the VI and it told them what the Catalyst was: the Citadel. It was then that the reports came in that the Reapers had just taken over the station and they somehow moved the entire structure to Sol.

Earth.

After leaving his homeworld behind, Shepard was coming back. All the people he was ordered to leave behind, he was returning to them. It was at Earth that the final battle would be fought. He and every specie would fight harder than any one of them had before. They would all be fighting not for their own people, but for every race that stood beside them. Every man, women and child of every civilization of every world was counting on every soul that fought here today.

Shepard led the tip of the spear. After all the falters and the heavy casualties they took both in orbit and on the ground, they were within a hundred yards of the beam that lead to the closed Citadel. They charged as hard as they could. They fell one by one until none stood. The assault failed.

But somehow, someway, Shepard was still alive, but only just. Burned and battered, he grabbed his Carnifex and, with whatever will and strength he had left, limped his way to the beam. Now, after arriving on the Citadel, defeating the Illusive man, opening the Citadel's arms and watching Anderson die beside him, the Crucible was ready to fire having been attached to the Catalyst.

But it turned out the Catalyst wasn't the Citadel. The Catalyst was the entity that lived inside the Citadel. It was the intelligence that Leviathan had created millions of years ago to solve the problem of the conflict between synthetics and organics. The solution was the creation of the Reapers. Leviathan was the first race that was harvested. The harvests then repeated every cycle. The advanced civilizations who used the Mass Relays were all hunted down and harvested until non remained. For millions of years, it had happen again and again.

But now, the tide had turned. Shepard had beaten the odds and altered the variables to bring the people of this cycle closer to defeating the Reapers than any cycle had before. Now that he was here, the Crucible could now be activated and the war would end. But only if Shepard activated it himself.

Shepard looked up at the three options to activate the Crucible. He limped forward toward the three-way fork in the road that lead to each one.

He looked up to his right. The choice on that side was the option that every specie had been searching for ever since the conflict started: a way to destroy that Reapers. The Reapers would be no more and the galaxy would be free.

But this choice would come at a cost. The blast from the Crucible would surge through the galaxy but the Reapers would not be the only ones who would be destroyed. Every synthetic being would be targeted and they would die with the Reapers. The Geth, who Shepard had fought so hard for to free them from the Reapers' influence and get the Quairens and the other species to accept them as allies in the conflict, would all die. EDI, the Artificial Intelligence of the Normandy SR-2 who contributed invaluably to the suicide mission against the Collectors and against the Reapers, would be erased. It would be a very terrible cost to pay.

Shepard looked up ahead at the beam that streamed down from the Crucible. It was the "Ideal solution" as told by the Catalyst itself. By throwing himself into the beam, his energy would cause a chain reaction that would cause the Crucible to alter every life form in the galaxy. Because of his synthetic implants that were given to him during his reconstruction, the energy of his body would somehow merge both synthetic and organic life together into a supposable new DNA. The Catalyst said it was the ideal solution because it would give a solution that it had been looking for. By merging both forms of life, organics would gain the perfection through technology they had always been striving for. Synthetics, in turn, would gain full understanding of organics. It would mean that peace between organics and synthetics would happen indefinably. The Reapers would also cease the harvest and all the harvested civilizations before the Protheans that were preserved inside them would be connected to everyone. Vaults of knowledge would be unlocked for everyone to explore and integrate into the new society.

He looked over to his left. The last option was the option that he didn't think was possible until now. It was the option to control the Reapers. The Illusive Man had told him to win the war, controlling the Reapers was the solution. But Shepard and all the others that fought beside him disregarded it as a twisted and insane idea that was impossible to achieve.

But the Illusive man and Cerberus pursued this goal indefinably. He said he was doing what he did ever since he created Cerberus to bring humanity to the apex of evolution. To dominate the galaxy. But all he did was give humanity a worse name to the other races while inflicting horrible pain on his own species. The Cerberus facility on Horizon was proof of that. It turned out in the end, he was indoctrinated just like the other species who wanted to control the reapers in the cycles before.

But Shepard himself, no one else, could control the Reapers if he activated the crucible this way. He could end the war and he would be able to save EDI and the Geth from destruction. He would lose his body but his mind would live on and he would see what the Reapers saw. Instead of having the Reapers continue their harvest, he could direct them to rebuild what they destroyed. Perhaps he could even use them to help the races expand out to the stars and protect them when threats arose in the future. It would be a gain for the galaxy with the advanced technology that the Reapers used without altering the very DNA of every specie.

Shepard came to the three-way fork in the platform. It was time to choose how the war would be ended and choose the future for the Galaxy. Shepard looked up at the three paths, shifting his gaze to each choice again and again. He did so until he locked his gaze on one of the choices. He moved his foot to the left but the other foot stayed where it was. He bent his head down and tightened his fists. How could he think of such a thing?

He turned around and proceeded up the right ramp.

This was the hardest decision he had ever made as a soldier. It was harder than leaving Ashley to die on Virmire. Harder than destroying the Alpha relay while thousands of batarians died in the Bahak system. But in war, there were sacrifices that had to be made even though they didn't feel right.

Shepard made it to the top of the ramp and limped with whatever energy he had left toward the power node. With the rest of his strength, he brought up his Carnifex and aimed it at the coupling. After everything he fought through, all the hardships and battles, after all the painful choices and sacrifices he had to make, it was finally down to this. He squeezed his finger on the trigger. The round left the gun and impacted the glass casing. He readjusted his aim and squeezed the trigger again. Again and again he sent the rounds into the node. He stood straighter as he walked closer and closer to make sure the rounds hit it in the right spot. The casing was broken and the last rounds in the extended clip broke into the coupling causing a violent break in the structure. He popped the used clip out and inserted the last one he had.

He thought of Anderson. This is what he would have done. Even knowing the consequences of this choice, Anderson would have done what he was doing now. Shepard knew that he was still making him proud.

He thought of EDI. She was a very valuable crew member and a good friend. He only hoped that she could be remembered as a person who discovered her value as a person.

The damaged node was primed to overload with one final bullet. Before Shepard squeezed the trigger one last time, he thought of the one person that he wished he could say goodbye to one last time. He wanted so badly to tell her that he was sorry for breaking his promise to come back to her and to tell her how much he loved her.

"I love you Liara," Shepard whispered. He closed his eyes...

...and pulled the trigger.


	2. Chapter 2

Liara sat back in her chair looking down at the dark metal floor beneath her. Her thumb twitched on the hand that held her other arm. They were on their way to Ilos. There they would face off against Saran one final time to stop his evil scheme to bring back the Reapers.

In the short time she was aboard the Normandy, she grew close to the Commander. Seeing him fight in battle showed her his strong will and dedication to get the job done. But the thing about him that stood out the most to her was his commitment to do the right thing. To make peace when he could and try to save the most amount of lives in the process.

But she didn't understand why she felt this way. How could she have grown close to a person who she had only know for several weeks let alone a person of a different species? Even when she told him that she was attracted to him, she told him it didn't make sense to her.

Maybe that was the true value of the Asari philosophy to mate with other species. It wasn't only to have the Asari daughters inherent unique new genetics. It was to find the best things within each species to share for generations later. Humans were seen as impulsive and violent most of the time. But so many, like Shepard, had astonishing things that many people of any specie shared. Compassion, dedication, and commitment to protect the people he fights for.

She hadn't been close to anyone like this before having living her life in solitude. She hadn't been able to explore her personal feelings until now. But with the dark things happening around them, Saren, the Geth and the Reapers, she said that it wasn't the best time to explore any further.

But they were on their way to Ilos and fight their hardest to stop Saren's scheme. The Commander had led so many successful missions during her time on the Normandy where he and the squad all came back alive. But on Virmire, Shepard had to make a difficult choice to leave Ashley Williams behind to escape before the bomb they planted in Saren's lab detonated. That was what she was concerned about. If something happened on Ilos and it involved either her or the commander...

After several minutes, Liara inhaled deeply and got out of her chair.

She walk across the crew deck to the door of the Commander's quarters. She did feel nervous about what she was about to do having not done this ever in her life. But she knew that she wanted this, more than ever. If she didn't find the courage tonight, she might not be able to do it any other time. She took a deep breath and pressed door control. The door opened and she walked through. The Commander was sitting at his desk when he heard the door open. He turned his head and saw her.

"Shepard," Liara said to him. "May I speak with you?"

Shepard stood from his seat and moved toward her.

"I was just thinking about you," he said.

"I have been thinking about you too. And what we are about to face," Liara said mustering her courage.

"I do not know what is going to happen on Ilos. I hope we will stop Saren of course, but..." Liara's worries showed in her tone and the Commander to could feel it. "Some part of me fears we are already too late. There is something I must tell you, in case we fail."

"We're not going to fail, I promise," Shepard said with strong certainty.

"Please," Liara said. "I am not looking for comfort. Saren might already have the Conduit. It is time to be completely honest with each other."

Liara's heart was racing faster. This was the moment that she didn't think she would ever get to. But she was here, alone with him. It was the time to do what she wanted. She stepped closer to him.

"These could be our last moments together. Our last chance to show each other how we feel," She reached out and gently put her hand onto his shoulder."I want this to be special."

Shepard gently brought his hand to her arm. His eyes showed the desire he had for her but they also showed great concern.

"We don't have to do this," he said. "Not unless you're sure."

"I have never been more sure of anything in my life."

She ran her hands up the side of his arms to his face. He held his own on her shoulders.

"Will you join with me Shepard?" Her eyes looked deep into his. "Let out bodies and minds unite."

Hs eyes reflected back the passion and desire he had for her. He knew that Liara was really sure about going through with this. This was their moment. Right now, they would embrace it together. Shepard gave a very slow and gentle nod as he leaned his head toward her.

Her nervousness slowly evaporated as distance between their lips closed. When her lips met his, the feeling in her body was replaced with passion and it was fueled by desire. This was her first kiss, and it was something that she would never forget.

They embraced another kiss as soon as the first was finished followed by another and another. She pulled herself toward him as he brought his arm around and held her close. The warmth of his body flowed into her own. She moved her body against his feeling the shape of his muscular form. Liara wasn't experienced, but the movements she made felt natural as if she knew them all along.

The desire grew and both of them knew that they couldn't continue the way they were. They broke the last kiss and looked deep into each other's eyes before Shepard reached down and grasped the openings of her suit. Her hands followed his assisting in shedding her clothing. As the fabric of her suit slipped off her body, she felt the touch of his hands glide across her bare skin.

In a short time, she had completely shed her outer layer. All that remained was her true uncovered self. The only time she was ever like this was when she was a very young girl with her mother. This feeling of openness made herself feel venerable. But this venerable feeling made her feel strong with Shepard seeing her the way she was.

It was now time for him to shed his coverings for her. She stepped to the Commander's side and ran her hands around him finding the openings. She started with his top uniform. When she lifted it off, with his help, she observed the grooves of muscles of his torso and biceps. The way they flexed under his soft white skin stirred something in Liara's senses. Next was the lower area. She had learned of the male areas of other species including humans. She moved her hands to remove the last parts of his clothing.

Now after what seemed too long, they were no longer divided by their coverings. They came together and felt their skin touch together. She ran her hands over his soft skin with the small bits of hair that coated over it. The scent of his skin sent shocks of emotions through her. They were unusual, but it stimulated her desire to have more of him.

Shepard ran his hand down the sides of her body feeling the scaled pattern in her skin. Shepard observed the curves of her body, enjoying what he felt and saw of it. Being this close to him and feeling the shape of his body made her realize why humans were so attracted to the Asari. The way her body shaped into his made it almost a perfect fit standing together.

The restlessness of the both of them was growing every second. It was time to do what needed to be done. She looked deep into the Commander's eyes. The anticipation made their hearts beat harder and faster. She closed her eyes. When she opened her eyes, the melding had begun. Her body shook as the senses of her partner's body flowed into her own. She felt his strong heart in his chest beat faster and faster. She felt the touch in Shepard's hands as they ran down the lower reaches of her body. She felt all of the senses in Shepard body as if it were her own. The only thing that was different was she saw him through her eyes.

The emotions were the ones that shook her the most. They both had the deep feelings for each other but now they felt each other's desire for one another through each other. Liara was right about what she had said, two had truly become one. She was him. He was her.

She moved around him, caressing her hand across his skin. She ran her waist down the sides of his muscular legs. She returned to his lips to embrace another deep kiss before they backtracked to the bed. Shepard crawled backwards into position while Liara followed him. Liara came down on top of his body with her eyes locked onto his. Shepard rolled both of them to the other side and brought his lips down to hers as both of them descended into a deeper trance of love and pleasure.

* * *

Liara felt herself wake up. She looked up and saw the Commander out of bed redressed. She sat up seeing the commander observe her uncovered self. She smiled. It was hard to take in what had happened. To feel the essence of another person flow into her and exploring the reaches of his body while feeling him explore her own. It was... Incredible.

"By the goddess that was incredible Shepard," She said.

"You were incredible," Shepard said with awe.

But before the conversation could continue, the intercom opened and Joker's voice spoke."Five minutes ETA to the Mu Relay."

Down time was over. "I had better go. Duty calls. You would not want to keep Joker waiting."

She put her bare feet on the floor and walked past the Commander to where she shed her suit the night before. She started slipping back into it.

"Shepard?" She looked back at him half way through her redressing. "Whatever happens on Ilos, I just wanted to say... Thank you. For everything."

Shepard grinned and nodded. She slipped the last of the suit on and walked out the door.

It was everything that she had hoped it would be. No matter what would happen on Ilos, she was happy to share this very close moment with a person that she cared about. She felt different now. A difference that made her feel more confident and much more connected to something other than facts and thoughts. She felt she was actually a grown person moving on with their life. But for now, it was time to get ready to bring down the one who was going to bring their destruction.

* * *

"Eliminate T'soni and retrieve the data," the voice of the Shadow broker said through the recording. "Civilian casualties not a concern."

Now after flying through Illum chasing Vasir and putting her down, they now had the data she stole. With the data in hand, she could now trace the transmission to its origin. The Shadow Broker was finally found and now she was going to come down on him with all of her wrath.

Shepard came through the hotel door. "Vasir's dead."

The hard as nails Spectre put up a hell of a fight even when she had lost so much blood. But she and Shepard managed to put her down along with the Shadow Broker's agents that pursued them. Liara fiddled with her Omni-tool before she began to walk down the Azure hotel's balcony while Shepard followed.

"I'm putting the data through the Normandy's computers," She said as they walked. "We can be at the Shadow Broker's base in a few hours. He'll know about Vasir before long. If he decides to kill Feron..."

Shepard quickly but gently grabbed her arm to stop her. "We'll get Feron out of there alive Liara. I promise."

"I know," Liara walked a few steps forward before she turned back at him. "You're here to help. Just like always."

"That's not a good thing?" Shepard crossed his arms.

"When we first met on Therum, you saved me from the geth. You fought a Krogan battlemaster while I cowered. Now you're doing it again. And I'm still leaning on you for help."

"That's what friends do, Liara."

He was right. Friends do help each other. Like how she went out to recover Shepard's body before the Broker got it first. She continued through the hotel with Shepard behind her.

"I can get us there based on Sekat's data. The Normandy's stealth drive will keep them from detecting us. The Shadow Broker's agents are still shooting their way through Illium. With luck they won't notice we've left until it's too late."

"That's a little cold," Shepard said darkly. She stopped and looked back at him again."They killed innocent people."

"You know what I mean."

"Do I?" Shepard sounded irritated when he stepped toward her and looked at her with a very stern look. "When I hit the ground back at the trade center, you went after Vasir without a backward look."

"A little fall wasn't going to kill you," Liara walked over to the nearby balcony and looked out to the flourishing lights of Illium's capital city. "I had to stay on Vasir. I had to stay rational, make the call. Like I did with Sekat."

''That's Vasir's fault, not yours." Shepard walked up next to her.

"Sekat had no idea what the stakes were. I put him in harm's way to get the data I needed. I got him killed. And I'd do it again," She pushed off the railing and continued back down to the courtyard where the taxi they drove was waiting. "But from here on out, things will be simple, get in get Feron, get out. And kill anyone who tries to stop us."

"That's it?" Shepard said.

"That's it," Liara said.

That was when Shepard stopped her one last time.

"Will you just stop for a second," She turned around to him. "We'll be jumping several light years. There's time to talk."

"About what?" She asked.

He leaned close to her.

"About us."

She knew he was going to get into this. He didn't have to endure two years of mourning the one he lost. But for her, "Us" felt so distant after living through two years of the painful memory and having to move on without him.

"Shepard listen, I'm..." Liara said uneasily. "...glad you're here."

"Are you worried there are terminals you need me to hack?"

"That's not fair!" Liara shot back. "You were dead!"

"I came back!" He replied very hard at her.

"It's not that easy! You can't just come back and have two years of mourning suddenly vanish!"

Liara closed her eyes and brought her palm to her head when the tension subsided.

"I'm sorry Shepard. I can't get into this," she looked back at him. "For now let's just focus on getting Faren back."

Shepard kept his stern stare at her for a second before he replied with a cold, "Fine." He walked past her down to the courtyard where they parked their taxi. Liara stood silent for a few seconds before she followed him.

* * *

Liara's eyes filled with tears. They had made it to the Shadow Broker's vessel and made it inside without too much trouble from the Shadow Broker's guards. They had found Feron in the prison hold in a sophisticated restraint chair that would kill him if they attempted to get him free. To free him, they would have to get up to the main room where the Shadow Broker himself was waiting to deactivate it.

After the brutal fight with the Yahg, they found the switch and turned it off. But Liara saw the screens showing the communication outlets to his contacts. They started reporting to the Broker asking what was happening. All of the Shadow Broker's contacts were there just beyond the screens. If they knew that the Broker had been compromised, they would sever their connections and they wouldn't be found again. Liara jumped in and communicated to the contacts that everything was under control. The screens returned to blue as they were before. They no longer suspected anything.

It was then that Feron walked into the room and saw what Liara was doing. She was now the new Shadow Broker. After two years of chasing the illusive criminal, she had saved her friend but she now had access to all of the Shadow Broker's secrets and resources without all of the contacts knowing that their contractor had been put under new management. It was an emotional moment for her as she broke into tears. Feron took it as a reason to excuse himself from the room.

Right now, Liara felt empty. For two years, she had pursued the Shadow Broker to the ends of the galaxy to get him for what he did to her. Now, the broker was dead, Feron was free and now she had all of the Broker's resources. Rage had kept her on this path. Now, with the path now walked, the rage was gone. But what remained?

Liara felt Shepard's hand on her shoulder. She turned to him with her eyes still glistening with tears.

"It's over," She said unable to hold back her feelings. "It's finally- for two years."

Shepard came forward and put his harms around her.

"It's alright," He said. The warmth of his embrace was very comforting. But when he pulled back and gave her a kiss, things changed.

The kiss stirred something within her. Unlike the kiss Shepard gave to her when they met in her office on Illium, this one reached down to her. With the thoughts of revenge and feelings of rage gone, she felt her deeper feelings surfacing. But after two years of knowing only anger, pain and mourning a lost friend, these feelings felt so alien to her. From this kiss, she remembered the strong feelings that Shepard had for her from two years ago. He still had those strong feelings for her now.

"It's been two years. I don't-,"

Could she do this? Go back to the way it was?

No. They way he talked and looked at her showed that Shepard was disappointed in her. Disappointed that she had turned into a person whose only goal was revenge at almost any cost. That wasn't what Shepard stood for. She wasn't the person Shepard had cared for two years ago. She changed too much. A person like Shepard didn't deserve a person like her. He disserved someone better.

She drew her arms away from his. "We're different people. You have your mission and-"

But before she could say anymore, Shepard moved his hands behind her again. This time, his hands pressed gently on the small of her back where the curves began. It triggered familiar and soothing sensations within her. It brought her back to that time on the SR-1 when the both of them embraced each other in their arms. She exhaled and slowly brought her lips forward. Shepard accepted the kiss and they embraced it deeply. All her uncertainties and concerns about "them" melted away.

"Okay..." She said once it was over. "Okay..."

Shepard looked over at her. "Okay," He said with a playful grin.

"But, we should focus," She said. "Let's see what our options are."

Shepard let go of her knowing that he was successful in bringing her back into his arms again. Liara walked over to the Shadow Broker's desk and observed the terminals.

"No safe guards, or user restrictions. It's like he never anticipated anyone but himself being here. And it's all ours."

"Sure you want to stay here?" Shepard said. "I could use you on the Normandy."

"I have to stay here," Liara turned to him. "We can't pass this up Shepard. All I wanted was to rescue Faren. But- Is it wrong that some part of me wants this? With the Shadow Broker's network, I can help you. Maybe I can turn this operation into something better."

Shepard paused for a moment obviously a little conflicted about the embrace they shared. But he nodded and said. "Don't be a stranger this time."

"Small chance of that," Liara regrettably said. "Comeback soon."

Shepard turned away after taking one last look at her. He didn't seem disappointed, or at least as much as he was before. Liara turned back to the consoles and got to work familiarizing herself with what the Shadow Broker had once the door behind Shepard closed.

* * *

Liara walked into the captain's quarters dressed in her special dress she retrieved from her apartment on Illium after she settled into the Shadow Broker's ship. The cabin was huge, much larger than the previous one she spent the night with Shepard in. And it was much more appealing. The large fish tank to her left was quite a thing to look at along with the model ship display case in front of the Commander's new desk. Down below, the bedroom was much cozier with a lounge sofa and coffee table accompanying it.

Shepard was down by the coffee table with two glasses of wine freshly poured. It was then that she noticed that he wore a dark tuxedo. It was very dashing to look at especially with him in it. Shepard looked up and put the bottle of wine down. He grabbed both glasses and walked up to her.

"Did you enjoy the tour?" He said holding out her glass.

When she came aboard the Normandy from Illium, she didn't have time to formally explore the ship. She stayed mostly in the engineering area where she worked on more of her leads that the Shadow broker had in case they would need to make a detour if they ran into trouble. Seeing how many new things that were in this new ship made it a worthy successor to the SR-1. But to her, this ship wasn't the Normandy without Shepard.

She took her glass from his hand. "Yes. It's a beautiful ship. Garrus was a very helpful guide. I'm glad he's alright despite his injury."

"He's been through a bit, but he's still up for a good fight."

"I also ran into Joker, he seemed happy to see me. Although he did ask me to record any parts of my conversation where 'My eyes do that freaky black eternity thing.'"

Shepard rubbed the back of his neck. "Of course he did."

"I also spoke with Doctor Chawkwas," Liara continued. "I'm glad she's doing well."

She looked over to the display cases that housed several ship models including one of the original Normandy SR-1. It brought back many memories of the trials she, Shepard and the crew faced when they faced Saren's forces together.

Liara turned to Shepard. "I brought you something. It took some digging but..." She presented the display stand she carried holding a priceless artifact she had kept for years. "I recovered your tags."

Shepard took the display case from her hands. He looked at it for a while. He now had two things that were missing; his helmet that he recovered from the crash site and now his old ID tags.

"I thought I'd never see these again," Shepard said putting it by his private terminal on his desk.

"You can't get back everything you lose. But sometimes you get lucky."

Shepard looked up. "Yeah, that was the plan."

Liara sensed the reference to her giving him to Cerberus to bring him back. Luck is what brought Shepard back to the realm of the living. Luck was what brought Liara to become the new Shadow Broker. And now luck was what drove Shepard on this suicidal mission he was undertaking.

"How are you actually doing, Shepard?" She asked him. "I mean really? Not to tell your squad to keep moral up."

Shepard crossed his arms and looked down at the floor. Now that the fight was over, the reality of a bigger fight to undertake was hard to take in.

"Between you and me," Shepard's face showed large uncertainty and worry. "I have no idea how we're going to do this. I'm doing everything I can but..."

"You've done more than most," Liara said. "There wouldn't be a man women or child left on Horizon. If not for you."

"I saved some of them," Shepard walked down stairs to the bedroom. "Not enough."

He put his glass down on the coffee table before he stopped by the side of the bed. "And the Collectors will continue hitting colonies until I stop them."

"So you'll stop them," She came down to him and put her glass down next to his. It always bothered Liara that Shepard was the one who was given the hardest tasks. But he was the only one who could get any of them done.

Shepard turned back to her. "And here I thought It'd be difficult."

"You'll get the job done. You always do," Liara said. "I just don't know what comes next."

There was always something to do with the threat of the Collectors and soon the Reapers themselves that the things that would come after were overlooked too often.

"So tell me what you want," she said. "If this all ends tomorrow, what happens to us?"

Shepard looked into her eyes before he replied.

"I don't know. Marriage old age..." he paused before the final part. "...and a lot of little blue children?"

_Children?_ That was thinking very far ahead.

"You just say these things," She gently nudged him.

But was he really serious that he wanted all of this? She thought it might come to that point when they were on the SR-1 until that tragic day. The memories started to come back to her. She stepped over to the desk next to the couch.

"Goddess," the tears began to build in her eyes again. "You were dead."

"I got better," Shepard said coming to her.

"This time," She turned around rather quickly. She brought up her hand to touch his shoulder but she stopped pulled it back. She dipped her head and wandered to the corner of the cabin.

"But you're going to leave again," She looked up to the roof window above. "When your team is ready, you'll leap through the Omega-4 relay."

He was going to face off against the very things that had killed him once before. The thought of losing him again lingered in her mind. She didn't want to have to go through it again if Shepard was going to put himself in more danger again. She just couldn't. She turned back to Shepard. She brought her hands up and Shepard brought them into his. She looked into his eyes.

"I spent two years mourning you. So if we're going to try this..." She mustered her courage to say what she needed to say. "I need to know you're always coming back."

She had just told him to make a promise to her. A promise that was a hard thing to do with Shepard's line of work. But it's a promise that she needed him to make if she was going to continue to live on with a better purpose than filtering information on CPUs.

"I don't know. It's a pretty big promise to make," Shepard said with a playful tone. The seriousness of Liara's question seemed to evaporate with his humor. He slowly leaned forward and moved his head around her neck. She allowed him to move her arm around him.

"Oh is it?" She said feeling his cheek brush against the side of her crest.

"I have to have something special to come back to," he said maneuvering his hands behind her.

"I'm open to suggestions," Liara said with curiosity.

"How about this?" She felt his hand run down the base of her back. She gasped when it reached the spot that triggered her pleasurable senses. The rest of the evening was enjoyable between them. When it was time for Liara to return to her new base of operations, she gave Shepard a hug.

"Thank you Shepard. For the drinks. And everything."

She stepped through the door to the elevator and looked at Shepard one last time before the door closed and she descended down the elevator. She felt good about herself and about Shepard. The way he acted felt like it was truly the person that lead her and the crew of the SR-1 to victory over Saren. If it was truly him, they she felt that he could lead this new and more difficult mission and come back alive this time. Shepard had made her a promise and she would hold him to it.

* * *

The cabin door opened.

"Come on in," Shepard said.

"Thank you," said Liara. "May we sit?"

She carried her box with her to Shepard's lounge table and got to work activating it. Shepard took a seat as she did.

"I've been thinking about the knowledge we gathered on the Reapers, and how easily it could be lost again. So, I put a plan in motion to preserve things for the future."

The little box glowed with a holographic display with hundreds of tiny stars reaching out to both of them.

"What's this?" Sheaprd asked.

"A record of the Galaxy," Liara said standing up. "Information on the Reapers, relays, different cultures, and blue prints for the Crucible."

The box's holograph cycled through images of the Reapers and the Crucible blueprints. Shepard seemed impressed with her work as he always seemed to be.

"But there's one entry I wanted your opinion on," She said.

Shepard looked at her. "Which one?"

"Your own."

The box displayed Shepard's own image of him in his uniform.

"I'd be honored to have your input. How would you like history to remember you?"

Shepard was silent for a moment. She had wondered what Shepard would think of putting his name in a box for someone 50,000 years from now to find.

"50,000 years is a long time for a computer to sit around."

"Please, I was an archeologist. I know what I'm doing," Liara said. "I'm encasing these records in time capsules and seeding copies on multiple planets. And while it's not foolproof, the VI I'm installing has every translation and linguistics program I could find."

"So it's an information guide, like vigil on Ilos?" Shepard asked.

"Yes. I've been preparing it for some time."

"And it will be a privilege to guide the future discoverers of these records," The VI's voice said as its image emanated from the box. "Have you decided what you would like Dr. T'Soni to write in your entry, Commander?"

Shepard pondered for a moment.

"You know me well enough to fill in the blanks, Liara," Shepard said.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. I'd like it to be your call."

Liara smiled. That was one thing that the Commander was fond of: Trust. She drove deep into her mind to describe what this one person was to the Galaxy. When she thought she had it, she started the entry.

"I'll start by saying Commander Shepard was born on Earth and fought harder than anyone else for his homeworld. Shepard could handle any weapon in the Galaxy. The Alliance never saw a deadlier soldier. He was a soldier and a leader. One who made peace whenever he could."

She paused before putting in the last detail. "And it was a privilege to know him."

"Careful this doesn't sound like a diary," Shepard said with playful smile.

"I can't help myself," She said sitting down next to him. "You're a good friend, Shepard."

"You've been there for me, too, Liara."

It was meant to be compliment and a thank you, but Liara took it as a reminder of how bad she felt. Thinking about it now, it seemed she was like her mother hunting the Shadow Broker. How could she have been so driven by rage that she refused to fight by her closest friend's side when he needed all the help he could get? She probably could have just abandoned her search for the Shadow Broker and helped him. What could have been more important than fighting the very thing that was going to bring about the end of all life? What she said back then to him when they met again on Illium felt so selfish and immature, something that Shepard did not stand for.

"No I haven't," She said. She leaned forward and stared into the floor. "I wish I could have joined you back on Illium."

"You made up for it," Shepard replied.

She moved her eyes to Shepard. It was a simple sentence, but it was comforting and it felt honest. He wasn't saying it to make her feel better. He was saying it because he meant it. Her uncertainty and guilt of remembering what she was faded away now she was beside the one person who didn't give up on her.

"Well, I suppose I did just write your name in the stars."

Liara smiled and leaned back into the couch. The feeling of being back together was very comforting.

* * *

"You sure you don't want to do something a little more exciting?" Shepard leaned up on the railing where Liara stood overlooking the Presidium. The Presidium certainly had seen better days even after Sovereign's attack. But even with the broken video screens and damaged buildings that came from the Cerberus coup that happened a few days ago, the Presidium was still a beautiful place to look at when you needed to get your mind off things. And with all the work Liara had as the most powerful information broker in the Galaxy, enjoying the pleasant view of the presidium was a calming way to clear her mind. With the Krogan and Turians and the Quairens and Geth working together, it was nice to relax on the Citadel if only for a while.

"I love this part of the Presidium," Liara said. "I reminds me of where I grew up."

"Where's that?" Shepard asked.

"Armali, back on Thessia. My mother and I lived beside a park. I spent hours there."

"Doing what?"

Liara chuckled when the memories came to her. "Reading, exploring. Getting in trouble digging for ruins in the grass."

Shepard's eyes widened. "You're kidding."

"I was very young," Liara said.

"Yeah, that's actually pretty cute."

"No one else thought it was funny," Liara rolled her eyes remembering those moments. "The lecture my mother gave me. But she did buy me my first history book the next day."

The fun memories stopped when she remembered what happened. How her mother tried to stop Saren by working from the inside. But it failed and she was indoctrinated becoming the Reaper's pawn.

"I miss her Shepard."

But Shepard didn't let her descend anymore.

"What was she like?" He asked.

"She was confident and kind," Liara recalled the true women that her mother was before that tragic day. "She loved to wear yellow. I thought she was the most beautiful woman in the world."

Shepard smiled again. "You'll be okay, Liara."

"Maybe you're right. Thank you, Shepard. I feel better."

That was what she liked about him. He always was there for his friends. Especially for his the closest of friends.

"I wish we could spend more time together like this. Just..." She paused. "friends."

Shepard moved closer to her. " 'Friends' doesn't cut it for me anymore, Liara."

She turned to him. "Well, that sounds serious."

"I am serious. Whatever happens..." He took her hands into his. "I'd like to spend my life with you."

He was so sincere about this. Looking into his eyes reminded her of all the times she had looked at him. Every time he looked at her, weather it was because he was happy or even when he was disappointed or angry, he showed the great care he had for her no matter his mood. And now, he showed a commitment unmatched by anything else he committed to. He wanted her.

"Then you're extremely lucky that I feel that way, too." She said coming closer to him.

"I know," he said as both of them moved together to embrace yet another kiss.

* * *

_"Having a bad day Shepard?"_

_"You could say that."_

_"Landing pad is over there, but it's behind a locked gate."_

_"Let's look for a control panel."_

_"I like your outfit- uh, control panel right."_

* * *

_"Commander. Keep dressing like that, and you'll have to catch me when I swoon."_

_"I might do more than catch you."_

* * *

Liara observed Admiral Anderson's spacious and beautiful apartment. Now with Shepard's twisted adventure of his identity crisis over, she could now enjoy the shore leave that the Commander had promised the crew. With everyone else free to roam the Citadel as the Normandy was now in safe hands, for real this time, Shepard had invited her to the apartment for some time to themselves.

She looked over at the Piano that stood to the left of the entrance by the window overlooking the wards. It had been a while, but she felt curious to try it again. She put her hand down onto the keyboard and the notes flowed through her fingers. From the sound of the melody, it sounded like she had played the song right so far.

"Greetings Commander," Glyph had suddenly materialized in the VI port of the Piano. Liara was startled when she turned quickly to see Shepard standing in front of her.

"Shepard," Liara said with a little embarrassment in her voice.

Shepard had a warm smile on his face. He wore his fancy N7 leather jacket that he wore when Liara met up with him after he was ambushed at the restaurant. Now that it was cleaned, it looked great on him.

"I didn't know you could play," he said looking down at the piano.

"Actually, this is that only song I know," she said looking back at the keys.

"Why's that?" Shepard asked.

"There was always something important to do. A ruin to uncover, intel to gather," She looked at him with a warm smile. "A Commander to save."

He chuckled at the remark. "You couldn't sit still long enough."

Liara chuckled in return, "Could you?"

"Is there something special about this song?" Shepard asked.

"On one of my first digs, a storm swept in. I was so restless, I wanted to get back to work. One of the other archeologists, Dr. Olana, had this keyboard. She took it everywhere."

She put her fingers back down onto the keyboard. The music flowed with a better feel. She was remembering the notes better now with the practice. She pulled her fingers from the keyboard when the stanza was done.

"She taught me to play this song while we waited."

"It's a good song," Shepard complimented.

She looked back at the Commander with a very warm smile.

"Thank you Shepard."

She moved back to the keys and played the next notes she remembered. She finished the stanza and walked over to the window with Shepard behind her.

"I've always loved that song."

They looked down at the mesmerizing neon of the Wards below before they heard more music behind them. They both looked back to see the keys of the piano glowing blue while it play by itself. With Glyph's integration, the song he played was gentle and beautiful. It was a song that played along the lines of the song Liara played. Shepard looked back at Liara in the deep and cheerful atmosphere that enveloped both of them.

"Shepard I..." She turned to leave but she didn't get far when she felt Shepard's hand grab her arm. She looked back at him.

"What are doing?" She accused playfully.

Shepard pulled her back close to him."Making sure you don't run off to do something important."

"I can't imagine what that would be," She said.

"We should do this more often."

"Yes, well," Liara said. "Maybe after..."

"Every day after," Shepard said brought her hands into his.

"Shepard," Liara said with a loving tone. After all of the events that had happened and even with all the strains they've had with each other, they were still here together. She looked deep into his eyes and leaned closer to him. The music enveloped them as their lips found each other yet again.

* * *

Liara stepped out of the elevator to Shepard's door. The door opened and she stepped through. Shepard was sitting down on his couch with his helmet in his hands. He looked up when he heard her come down the steps.

"I wondered where you were," Liara said stopping in front of him.

"EDI didn't tell you?" Shepard said.

"She respects your privacy. Not like me," She said putting her hands on her hips. "What are you doing?"

Shepard turned the helmet around his hands one last time before he stood up. "I thought I heard the casing crack during that last fight," He tossed the helmet over to Liara. "Bullet must have grazed me." He sat on the edge of the bed. He displayed a small amount of nervousness.

"Do you feel ready, Shepard?" Liara said.

Now with the galaxy's fighters working together and the Crucible complete, they were now ready to assault Cerberus head on to take it down. Once Cerberus was broken, the VI they stole would then give them the location of the Catalyst. Once they attacked, the Reapers would know what they were up to and they would be on the move. There was no going back now. The final battles were about to begin. And once again, Shepard was the one who was leading the charge.

"You first," he said to her.

"Ha," Liara said. "Very fair."

She looked down at the helmet in her hands. "What I want most is for this war to end while there's still a galaxy left to save."

She looked back at him. "And everyone is counting on you to do that for us. It must be overwhelming."

Even with the Commander's history in the N7, his heroic stand-off at Elysium, leading the crew of the newly dubbed Normandy SR-1 to foil Saren's plans and the casualty-less suicide mission against the Collectors, he still got nervous about the big missions. He did so well on many but there had been so many hiccups during some of his missions that cost the lives of his allies and friends. He'd lost so many good friends to his enemies and the failure on Thessia gave him a sore feeling in his gut. If he made too many mistakes, more people would die and he might even die failing to complete the mission. He always pushed away the uncertainty to keep his head in the game but sometimes the uncertainty lingered back to him.

"How do you get ready for something like this?" Shepard said with very clear concern.

Liara walked over to him. "You cajole, and threaten, and make tremendous sacrifices," She sat beside him and put his helmet on the side table. "Until the galaxy realizes it has someone worth following."

"You think so?" He said stretching himself out over the bed.

"There is no doubt in my mind," She leaned back beside him.

Both of them looked up through the windowed roof above them. Beyond the glass and beyond the kinetic barriers, the stars shone in their iridescent beauty. For many species, they had wondered if there was life out in the cosmos. For many years, the question was unanswered as all the races could do was wonder what lay beyond their homeworlds. When they advanced their people, and used the mysterious technology that was left behind, they moved out and they explored and expanded their people across the stars. And the question of if there was life beyond the stars was answered. In the many years that past, more and more races made contact with one another. Some in peaceful ways, while others had less civil encounters. In the years that followed, more and more races joined the newly formed community, connecting with each other and learning new things about one another. And even with every space traveling race had explored, there was still more planets out there. Untouched worlds that could be a sanctuary of peace from all the conflict.

Liara looked down and reached out her hand to his own. She slipped it on top of his and wove her fingers into his into a tight grip. Shepard looked over at her.

"It would be easy for a single ship to get lost up there," She said looking back up at the stars. "Wouldn't it?"

"Yeah," Shepard said. "It would."

"To find someplace very far away, where you could spend the rest of your life... in peace," Liara looked back at Shepard who did the same.

"And happiness."

He moved over to her and planted a soft kiss on her cheek. He sat up and stayed the silence between them. After a moment, he spoke with no voice that was any more truthful.

"Right now, there's no place I'd rather be."

She sat up to his side and looked deep into Shepard's eyes. "Neither would I."

They embraced a deep passionate kiss. Sitting together with him made Liara think of how everything between them came to be. How the technology of space travel brought her people to the stars while his own followed centuries later. And when the galaxy needed help, she was swept into the storm with the Commander and his crew. Through the fighting, she and the Commander grew closer together. When the final battle approached, she came to him to truly become one with him. After the tragic disaster that happened, it seemed that Liara had become so distant that she couldn't come back to him when he came back to the realm of the living. But Shepard persisted and he brought her back to his arms despite everything. He never gave up on her, and that was what kept them together.

And now, she was here with him again looking into his deep blue eyes that matched her own. Inside those two eyes was not just a soldier fighting for the galaxy's populace's right to live, but a person who cared for those he lead into battle and for those who were close to him. She was one of the many reasons why he fought for the galaxy and he was the reason she fought. Whatever happened from this day on, she knew that he was the best thing that ever happened to her.

"I love you Shepard," She said with every feeling of honesty.

"I love you too, Liara," He said, deeply and truthfully.


	3. Chapter 3

Shepard heard something. He _heard_ something. It was vague and soft. But it slowly grew louder. It was a beeping sound. He felt air flow inside him. He could breathe. He felt the senses of his body return to him. He could feel the features of his face, the shape of his torso and the extent of his limbs. Those senses were accompanied by growing stings of pain all around.

Was he... alive?

He moved his eyes around and opened his lids. His vision was dark and blurred. But as it focused, he could make the first thing he saw, a darkened ceiling. A light bore from above his view, he looked up to see a lamp lit over him. When he felt the sore muscles in his neck, he used them to turn his head. He turned to his left to see a window. Through that window, he could see lights of distant buildings.

He was in a hospital. He was in a bed with a white blanket over him. He felt a number of bandages covering several parts of his body and his face.

Was this real? Was he really here? Alive?

He turned his head back to face back up at the ceiling. As he did, something appeared in the corner of his eye. He looked over to his right. What he saw made his heart skip a beat.

It was a face of a women whose skin was paved with the color of deep blue. It was an Asari. An Asari who looked down over him with two eyes that matched the color of her skin and both of them were on the brink of tears. Shepard painfully lifted his hand. He reached out and placed it on the side of her face. Through the pain in his arm, he felt her textured skin cladding the grooves of her face. She brought up her hand and sandwiched his palm between her cheek and hand.

"L... Liara?" said Shepard.

"Shepard," Liara spoke with a soft whisper. Her eyes expelled two tears that ran down to her lips.

She leaned over him and planted a gentle but deep kiss onto his lips. Shepard felt the warmth and happiness of love fill him as he felt her violet lips glide across his. The pain was irritating but the comfort of feeling her lips on his drowned it out. When it was over, Liara nestled her head onto his shoulder. Him and her together again. It felt too good to be true.

"Is-is it really you?" he asked.

"You are here Shepard," She said still nestled on Shepard's shoulder. "And I am here with you."

The way she said it, it felt true. The feeling of her skin touching the side of his neck, it felt real like the way he remembered it. It was real. He was alive and the one person he loved more than anything else embraced him with tears of joy flowing from her eyes.

When Liara finally pulled her head back, she looked down into Shepard's own blue eyes.

"What happened?" he asked.

Liara gave loving grin.

"You did it," said Liara. "You destroyed the Reapers."

The Reapers... destroyed? It worked? It was over?

"Th-They're really gone?"

"The Crucible worked. Whatever you did, you activated it. It destroyed all the Reapers around Earth and it sent a surge through the relays. It reached every corner of the galaxy... to every reaper. They're now lifeless pieces of metal. You did it, Shepard."

Shepard lay his head back down on his pillow and closed his eyes. He did it. He really did it. He destroyed the Reapers. But how was he alive? How was he here? Before Shepard could talk to Liara again the door to the hallway opened and someone had walked into the room. Shepard looked up and saw who it was.

"Shepard," Miranda said with surprise. She looked at Liara. "Did he wake up just now?"

"Only mere seconds ago." Liara said still overjoyed to see him awake and alive.

Miranda came to Shepard's other side. "It's good to see you're awake Shepard."

"Miranda," Shepard said amazed to see another friendly face. "It's great to see you too."

Miranda started to scan him with her Omni-tool. "How are you feeling?"

He tried to describe his pain, but he felt so exhausted and weak to fully describe it all.

"I feel like... death."

"I expected as much," said Miranda. "The good news is you were still alive when they found you. I didn't have to bring you back from the dead again, thankfully."

They found him alive? How?

"Where? How was I still alive?"

Miranda looked up at Shepard when she completed scanning him.

"That's one of the things we're still trying to understand. Did Liara tell you about what happened with the Crucible?"

Shepard nodded and Miranda continued.

"Well after it destroyed the Reapers around Earth and sent the charge through the relays, the Crucible's structure overloaded and broke from the Citadel. The pieces of the Crucible entered Earth's atmosphere and impacted several spots around Europe and the Mediterranean. At one of the sights in the southern reach of London..."

"They found me?" Shepard finished.

"Yes," said Miranda. "I came as quick as I could when I heard they found you."

"How bad was it?"

"I honestly don't know how you were still alive. Half of your implants were fried and you had third degree burns all over while nearly all your bones were fractured or broken. But somehow you were still alive, but barely. We treated you as best we could until we got an advanced medical facility online. I lead the operation that replaced your implants and fixed the rest of the internal damage."

Sheprad looked down at his body that was covered by the white blanket. "By the look and feel of it, you succeeded."

"We got the damaged implants replaced and mended the major damage to your organs. But even then, it seemed bleak that you would live. Just over fifty percent. We did everything we could and all we could do was wait."

"How long was I out?"

Miranda paused for a moment. "Five months."

Five months. He'd been out for that long?

"There's a lot that's happened Shepard. You can ask Liara about what happened when we're done with the tests."

Shepard nodded and Miranda continued on with the physical tests with his eyes and arms as well as some questioner to make sure he remembered himself and what had happened over his career as a soldier. When it was over, Miranda assisted in reclining his bed and moving him into more comfortable sitting position.

"It looks like you're in good hands," said Miranda. "Vitals are stable, you remember who you are, and your recovery is looking good. Just relax and to you'll be fine. I'll leave you two alone."

Miranda was just about to leave when Shepard called her name.

"Miranda."

She turned around to look back at him.

"Thank you, " he said.

"It's the least I could do to repay you for saving Oriana and everyone else in the galaxy."

She passed through the door and left him and Liara alone. Liara gazed into him with her two loving eyes that always gave him that feeling of comfort and love. Shepard truly didn't know what to say. Having expected death again, and knowing that he was breaking his promise to come back to her, seeing her right now made this reunion the most emotional moment of his life.

"Liara, I'm..." Shepard stumbled on the words. The moment he ordered Liara to leave the battle when she was injured. The look on her face. How she didn't want to leave him again. It was so painful remembering it.

"I'm sorry," Shepard said. "I'm sorry I..."

"Shepard, please," Liara said before Shepard could say anymore. "I was scared when you sent me away. I was terrified when you were on the Crucible when it activated and no one came for you. For this whole war, that's all we've ever felt. Fear. Pain. Sadness."

Liara maneuvered close to him again. "But now, the war is over and you're going to live. It's not a time to be sorry or sad. It's a time to be happy, Shepard. I want to be happy and I want you to be happy. Right now."

Liara's eyes were still streaming with tears when she finished. Seeing her act like this showed how sincere she was. Sitting beside him for months waiting for him to wake up. Shepard could only imagine the torment she endured knowing that he had a fifty-fifty chance of living through it. And seeing her when Thessia was lost, the torment of seeing everything she knew and loved burning around her which lasted for weeks on end, it really showed in her. But now, Shepard was beside her and he was alive. The war was over and they were together. Nothing else mattered now. It was a time to be happy.

Shepard lifted his hand and wrapped it behind her.

"I am happy," He said to her. "More than any person in the Galaxy."

He pulled Liara close to him and brought her lips to his. The pain couldn't keep him from feeling the overwhelming love that filled him. When it was over, Liara put her head on his shoulder again. He wanted nothing more than to hold her close. He did have so many questions about what happened, but he was exhausted. Right now, it was his moment with her. Everything else could wait. He had kept his promise to come back. It was a time to be happy.

"I love you Liara," He said.

"I love you Shepard," she said in return.

* * *

Shepard opened his eyes. He looked around to see he was still in the hospital room.

_Thank god!_ Everything the night before wasn't a dream after all. Everything he saw in the room was exactly where it was the night before, including the person in the chair next to him. Liara smiled lovingly.

"It's very good to see you're still in the realm of the living," she said.

Shepard grinned in return. "To be honest, I didn't think I was when I saw you when I woke up. But I'm very happy to be alive. After everything..."

Shepard paused. He looked out to the window to see the morning sun shine in the distance

"What is it, Shepard?" Liara leaned forward in her seat.

Shepard turned his gaze back at her.

"I know what it was," he said.

"What was?" asked Liara.

Shepard lifted his hand out to her and Liara took it into her own hands.

"I remember what happened when I was unconscious," said Shepard. "It felt like a dream but... I think it was more than that."

"What do you remember?"

Shepard recalled the chilling images that came to his mind.

"I was in a park with dead trees and ash spread out everywhere. The same one in my dreams after I left Earth. In them, I was chasing a scared boy, trying to save him. But every time I reach him he suddenly bursts into flames and I can't save him. In this one, I was standing in the park but..." Shepard paused and drifted his view away to think about what he said.

"What did you see?" Liara said

Shepard returned to Liara's gaze.

"I saw myself back on the streets with the Reds."

Liara stared blankly for a moment. "The gang you were affiliated with growing up."

The feelings of unloving brutality came across him. A nobody with no purpose and no future.

"I turned to looked away, but... I saw myself on the frontlines next. I saw the squad mates I led get killed. I saw the faces of those I killed look back at me before I ended them."

Liara pulled her head down to his hand she sandwiched with her palms.

"But it got worse," said Shepard. "The last thing I saw was the Reapers."

The images came to him, the sight of people turning into husks, seeing the collectors stuffing humans into pods and seeing them melted inside them. And the images of the legions of Reaper thralls overrunning soldiers and civilians while the beams of the Reapers themselves vaporized everything and everyone it touched.

"Everything they did..." Shepard stumbled with his words. "It was just too much. The pain. The guilt. The helplessness. It was so much that I fell and I couldn't move. Then a swarm of husks grab me and drag me into a collector pod."

"Oh goddess, Shepard," said Liara with a very emotional whisper. "Please, it's over and you're alive."

Shepard moved his hand from her palms to her cheek.

"To be honest, I don't think I would be alive," Shepard said. "Seeing all that grief, it overcame me. I felt like my will to live was gone and I really was going to die. If I did, I think that fifty-fifty might have ended on the other half. But I wasn't in the pod anymore. The next thing I noticed was that I was seeing myself again. Only this time, I was standing in an underground Prothaen ruin. But the thing was, It was the one where we first met."

Liara exhaled softly when Shepard told her.

"Right there, in that moment, I was you. The memories you gave me, I saw them. The moment we rescued you and all the conversations we had when we were on the SR-1, I saw it all through your eyes. One of them I remember the most..." he paused for a second. "Was our night together before Ilos."

That special moment when Liara mustered the courage to come to Shepard and go through with it. The reminder sparked her emotions and she displayed it through her eyes.

"I felt everything you did when you came to me. Every sensation, every emotion you had, I felt it all."

Liara was awed by what Shepard had said. Shepard himself was awed too. Having seen and felt the sexual experience again only this time through her made the experience feel so unreal. It made him know what it was to be her in that moment. Every moment of pleasure that he gave to her, he felt it through her. The moment when they embraced eternity was as Shepard remembered; every thought, emotion and sensation they shared through each other. But the only difference was it was all through Liara's eyes.

"Was that all that you saw?" Liara asked when enough time passed for her to ponder.

"No, it kept going," Shepard said. "I saw you evacuate the Normandy after the Collectors hit it. The time you found my body. The moment we met on Illium and our adventure to find the Shadow Broker."

The reminder came to Liara and made her uncomfortable. It had been so long ago but hearing him say he experienced her years hunting the Shadow Broker made her uneasy. She looked away.

"If you experienced those moments, then you surly felt the torment and rage that drove me to become someone that I wasn't... and how it nearly caused me to end whatever we had together."

Shepard nodded and Liara looked away again. For Shepard, he understood why Liara acted the way she did when they spoke on the balcony of Azure. The torment and Rage clouded so many of her judgments and surprised the feelings of what she and Shepard had before he died.

"I'm so sorry," Liara said. She remembered how selfish she was when he came to her on Illium. Pushing him away for her own personal vendetta. "How could I have done that to you?"

"Did I say you made up for it?" asked Shepard.

Liara looked back at him. She produced a small grin. "Yes, you did."

"Then you don't have to worry about it. It's all over."

"I guess you're right," said Liara. "But I need to ask you something now that there isn't anything that's interfering between us."

"What is it?" asked Shepard.

"What was it that drove you to keep 'us' together?"

"Well, an eternity is something that you can't forget easily."

Liara smiled at his comment. Having embraced that night before they attacked Cerberus, she remembered the great feelings of pleasure and closeness that she shared with him. After that night, she knew that she didn't want to leave him ever again.

"What else did you see?" She asked.

"Everything else that happened after that," said Shepard. "When we met on Mars, our talks when there was free time, our little adventure when we were on Shore leave and..." The next thing he said was the most important one. "When I talked about those little blue children and I made my promise to always come back."

The emotions took over Liara almost immediately. She bent out of her seat and smothered her face into Shepard's shoulder again. She couldn't hold back the gasps as she sobbed into his shoulder. Shepard lifted his other hand and placed it onto the back of Liara's crest. When the feeling mostly passed from Liara's mind, she moved back and looked into Shepard's eyes again.

"Seeing what you saw, it showed me what I meant to you. It made me feel there was a purpose to my life. That I could be something more than just a tool for war. It gave me reason to live. I think that is why I was able to wake up to you."

Shepard pulled Liara closer, slowly but steadily until they were eye to eye with one another.

"You saved me Liara," said Shepard so lovingly. "You can't imagine how grateful I am."

Liara moved her lips to his and they embraced another kiss together. Knowing that she saved him again, Liara was even more grateful to be with him.

* * *

**Author's note:** And so the official epilogue begins. I didn't put any author's note before because I wanted you to figure out what the transition between chapter 1 and 2 meant. But now that that is over with, I'll say what I need to say.

First off, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE give me feedback. Tell me if I'm doing good to draw your attention. Tell me if there are areas I need to work on. Tell me if I'm able to get the scenes right like other writers you've read did. Tell me what you want me to covering addition to what I already have planned. Anyway, I want to know as much as possible because quite frankly, this is the fic that I want to get right. I've really stressed myself out with this chapter because I felt I wasn't getting things I wanted out of it but I think I've managed to do a good job and I hope you like it.

This fic is for Liara fans and fans who want an overall happy ending to the greatest Sci-fi story of all time.

One last thing, I know I pulled my punches in the last chapter when it came to "Intimacy" unlike many other fics that were given the M rating. If you think it's not enough or just enough to be an M rating, let me know. I might have more in the future but that remains to be seen.

I want to know so please review and/or PM me on what you think so far and/or about what you want to see.


	4. Chapter 4

The both of them stayed close together until the door opened. Miranda walked through with a data pad in one hand and a tray of food in the other.

"Well, you've made it through the first night that's a good sign," said Miranda.

"It is," said Shepard. "Especially knowing that this person next to me was the reason I was able to pull through."

Miranda looked over at Laira for a moment and returned to Shepard.

"Lovers intuition?" she asked.

"Something like that," Shepard said with a grin. "So how am I doing?"

Miranda looked at her data pad. "Well your organs are reporting stable behavior without serious ruptures or bruising. The healing while you were in a comma was slow but the long months gave you enough time to heal most of the major swelling. Based on our estimates, you'll be out of hospital in four or five days if you take it easy. But I suggest that you keep yourself from doing any stressful or physically engaging activities afterwards."

"I honestly am in no rush," Shepard looked back at Liara. "Just as long as I have this spectacular person by my side I'm alright doing nothing for a while."

Liara smiled and she nearly blushed with her purple blood to make her skin deep violet. "Don't worry Shepard, the Shadow Broker can take a vacation for a little while."

"Well before you two get any more comfortable, there's a little surprise you should see," Miranda looked over at the door and the pair looked up. Shepard was stunned yet again when he saw who came through the door.

Garrus Vakerian, Tali'zora vas Normandy, James Vega, Jack, Urdnot Wrex, Grunt and Javik all filed into the room.

"HE-HA! SHEPARD!" Grunt exclaimed with excitement. He moved over to Shepards side while Miranda barely had time to move out of the way.

"Grunt," Shepard said smiling. "It's great to see you're alive."

He looked over to all the rest that stood in the room. "It's great to see all of you."

"And we're so happy to see that you're still alive Sheaprd," Tali said. "It was very painful waiting for you to wake up."

"More painful worrying about what Liara would feel if you died in front of her," Garrus said. "But thankfully, we don't have to worry about that."

Shepard grinned at Garrus's remark with the somewhat dark humor he used.

"Well to be honest," he looked up to Liara again. "I don't think I would have been able to pull through if it wasn't for this person right here. She gave me a purpose to try to live."

Liara took his hand again as she sat down next to him again. The air in the room seemed to have paused when the visitors looked at the two. The pause was over after a few seconds when Jack spoke up.

"It's good to see you're not as shitty looking when you were taking that long nap of yours," Jack said. "I was getting uneasy seeing your face when we pulled you out."

_Pulled me out?_

"Wait. You're the one who found me, Jack?"

"Her and us," Wrex stepped up next to Grunt.

"Wrex and I came together with Jack to explore the place where a piece of the Crucible crashed in the southern part of the city," Grunt said. "Jack's Omni-tool detected something under the rubble. We dug through until we found you."

Shepard smiled again. The image of Grunt digging through the rubble to find his own battle master's body in the rubble amused him for a moment. The miracle of him surviving the fall to Earth got better knowing it was three of his friends who dug him out.

"Was I really hideous when you found me?"

"You looked like shit that was for sure," Jack said. "But honestly, it didn't look as bad as 'scares' over there." She motioned her head over to Garrus.

"How am I supposed to know you're telling the truth?" Garrus asked. "I didn't get a chance to see him because Miranda fixed up the scares before we got back."

"I haven't looked in a mirror yet," said Shepard. "How is my face now?"

"Your scaring that you had after I rebuilt you returned but I've been able to fix that," said Miranda. "But you still have some dermal scars. I could have those fixed, make you like you were before the battle started."

"Ay," Vega spoke up. "Chicks dig scars. You should think about keeping some of them."

_Good old Vega_.

"Good to see you too Vega. But I thought it was pecks and arms," Shepard replied.

"Yeah well that's why I have both," he said. "Just saying, it's an opportunity to show the folks what true battle scars are."

Shepard smiled. It was a pretty good point. He looked over at Liara again before he said, "That'll depend on whether or not this lovely lady standing here thinks that scars make humans more attractive."

"I'll think about it," Liara said with a teasing smile. "Asari do have preferences, but I find some human qualities quite attractive."

Shepard smiled again and turned to look back at the group. He looked over to see Javik standing quietly against the back wall behind everyone else.

"Happy to see me, Javik?" asked Shepard.

Javik looked over at Shepard with the silent stare that showed little emotion like he did when he stayed aboard the Normandy after he was woken up. But after all the adventures and battles with the crew, he showed traces of some emotion in his four eyes. He stepped away from the wall and walked closer to Shepard's bed.

"After seeing only death from two cycles, and finally seeing the destroyers of my people finally crushed to dust, the sight of their destroyer still breathing life into himself is something that is good for a change," Javik replied.

"Well I'm happy that you've made it through too Javik," said Shepard. "You were one of the best soldiers I fought with."

"As were you," Javik replied. "I am grateful to have fought by your side and to finally avenge my people. It's a victory, and you were the one who made it possible."

"Are you still going to do what you said you were going to do?" He referred to Javik's promise to join his own crew in death having seen their faces, and their fates, when he touched his memory shard.

"I will," said Javik. "But I want to embrace the feeling of peace before that time. Having only seen death and destruction ever since birth, the feeling of peace is new to me. These past few months, I have witnessed the resilience of these people as I watched them work to restore this world along with the rest of the Galaxy. It was something that I have only dreamed about when I was not fighting. It'll be a good memory to hold on to when I leave to join my men."

"Well I'm happy that you're planning to stay with us just a little longer."

"He's agreed to co-author my book I'm working on," said Liara.

Shepard looked back at Liara with surprise. "Journey with the Prothean?" He asked. When Shepard went down to talk to Liara on the Normany from time to time, he caught a glimpse of an entry on her terminal saying that she was working on a book about Protheans and it had a list of potential titles.

"We've been working on little bits of it but I've only made small progress," she replied.

"Because most of your time was consumed by me?" Shepard asked.

Liara dipped her head down with embarrassment.

"You wouldn't believe how many times we had to drag her out of this room to get her mind off of things," said Garrus.

Shepard chuckled even though it was painful to do so.

"Well I'm glad that I'm awake so she doesn't worry about me whenever she needs to do her work."

Liara smiled again.

"So how does it feel Shepard?" asked Garrus when the couple broke their brief embrace. "Having finally blown the Reapers to hell once and for all and to actual live to tell about it?"

Shepard closed his eyes. He remembered the median voyage of the Normandy SR-1 to Eden Prime and he remembered the adventure that followed. From Eden Prime to Ilos. From Omega, to Illium, to the Collector base. From Earth to Tuchanka, to Rannoch, to Thessia and finally back to Earth. All the fire fights, all the painful images of the horrid Reaper creations and all the people dying to survive, all of that was over. The Reapers were gone. The Galaxy was free. There was now another agenda for humanity and the rest of the Galaxy to follow besides war. Peace was finally here.

"To be honest," he looked over to Liara again and took her hand. "I could care less because I've kept my promise to the person who means the world to me. That's all that matters"

"Well I guess that could make sense," said Garrus. "The whole hero thing must have gotten old on you since you've earned it for the third time in a row."

_Savior of the Citadel_. _Destroyer of the Collectors._ And now, _Savor of the Galaxy_.

"Well that's too bad considering what I said about what your name means on Tuchanka," said Wrex. "We're already building the statue."

Shepard shuddered when Wrex said the word statue.

"You didn't..." Shepard said.

"Bakarra and I already did," Wrex's big smile filled his face as he laughed. "Once you're out of bed, you'll need to come by to see it for yourself."

"Every world will make statues for you Shepard," Grunt spoke up. "You've fought harder than anyone and you've crushed the greatest enemies to the Galaxy. Every world should have a statue of you."

"Like I said to you, Commander," Javik stepped closer to Shepard's bed. "You are the Avatar of this cycle. You were the one who united a divided galaxy to achieve what my people could not."

"I wouldn't have been able to do any of that if it had been for all of you," Shepard looked out to all the others. "Ever since the day I went after Saren, the reason I succeed was thanks to all of you carrying your weight as well as each other. I couldn't have done this without any of you."

"We were happy to help," Tali said. "After everything you've done, those statues are the least everyone could do for you."

Shepard smiled again. "I know that I don't take the hero stuff seriously, but I might as well ask. How big is it?"

Tali activated her Omni-tool and walked past the group over to the TV monitor at the other end of the room. She swiped it in front of the monitor and it turned on.

"See for yourself," she said.

The screen showed a news real with an overhead view of a crowd of people gathering outside a building. The camera zoomed in and the crowd of people consisted mostly of humans but many other species. Turian, Asari, Salerian and others. Many held signs that said things like "You deserve to live," "Get well soon," "We want one less dead hero!" and other kind words. The screen then switched over to a familiar face that stood in the crowd.

**"**Khalisah Al-Jilani reporting live from Earth. Several months ago after the destruction of the Repears and the evacuation of the populace of the Citadel, the body of Commander Shepard was found in the ruins of London after the device the Alliance deployed on the Reapers fired. He was moved to this hospital and was reported to be in a comma but in stable the reports we are getting now, it is confirmed that Commander Shepard is conscious. We don't know the details of his condition but the doctors have said that he is recovering."

Shepard was surprised to see Al-Jilani still reporting. Even more surprising was the fact that she seemed to have a more sympathetic report unlike the times she backed Shepard in the corner with her interviews.

"That's just out the window?" Shepard asked.

"It's been like that for days after you were moved here," James stood by the window and looked down through it. "People came and went while others stayed longer. Now everyone's coming by now that the word's out."

The screen changed to a the face of an Asari standing in front of the camera with Al-Jilani to the side.

"Can you explain to me what Commander Shepard means to you in a few words," Al-Jilani asked the interviewee.

"Well that's very hard to do with just a few words because I have quite a few things that I admire about him. He was a special soldier who fought for all of us. Not just for his own race but for every person of every race including my own. In a way, I believe he shows the best all of us can be."

The next person to be interviewed was a male Turian.

"I was very young when humanity was introduced into the galactic community. I grew up seeing humanity as an arrogant impulsive race and had my suspicions about them. But after this war, and seeing all the Commander did for all of us, it gives me hope that all of us can work together for a better future."

The next person to come up gave Shepard a real surprise.

"Well I was a very big fan of Shepard when he became the first human Spectre," said Conrad Verner. "I was very obsessed about him that I tried to be like him. I got myself into trouble on Illium and I made a fool of myself on the Citadel and the Commander had to come in to fix the problem I got into both times. But after the time I got in trouble on the Citadel, I saw a Cerberus informant and I called him out. Now you might not believe this part, but he pulled a gun on the Commander and I leapt in front of him to take the bullet."

"My... that is hard to believe indeed," Al-Jilani replied. "Was it painful when the bullet hit you?"

"Actually no. Thankfully someone sabotaged his gun so it never fired the round. That person saved my life, but that's another story. What the Commander made me realize was that I didn't need to be a heroic man risking his life and do those kind of crazy things to help people. What's important is that I be a good person and help out with what I can do on my own level. After he straightened me out on Illium, I opened a shelter for orphans and refugees until the Reapers attacked. Even though I lost what I had left getting the refugees off-world, I'm still going to work to help people on Earth and maybe on other worlds now that the war is over."

He turned his gaze to camera.

"Commander Shepard," he said into the camera. "If you see this when you recover, because I know you'll pull through, I just wanted to say thank you for what you did for me and I promise that'll do a better job to help those who need it. Because that's what you'd want me and any other ordinary person to do."

Shepard was stunned at Conrad's words. He'd showed signs that he really matured and actually learned from his mistakes. But would it last?

"Only time will tell," said Garrus.

"Really hope so," said Shepard.

The video screen switched to more images of people showing their support for the Commander with more signs that said "You are a hero!" "Thank you" "Get well soon" and other kind words from people from other places around the galaxy.

The images made Shepard think about what these people had experienced. Since the war started, they were scared and terrified of the Reapers who came to wipe them out. But now, with the war over, they seemed to stand stronger than ever before. How he brought a crew of diverse people together to travel the galaxy, that image was passed down to the people he fought for.

"You're a hero, Shepard," Wrex said. "Just like I said on Tuchanka."

"Only because I killed the Reapers with help of everyone here in this room and with the support of everyone across the Galaxy."

"And they helped because of what you stood for," Liara leaned down to his side again. "You believed working together was the way the galaxy was going make itself a better place even before the Reapers arrived."

Shepard remembered the conversations he and Liara had after they first met when she joined the Normandy crew. She told him about how she and her own species viewed humanity as a bully and how the first human Spectre had a duty to bring humanity up the levels in the galactic community and have the other races view them as equals.

"I did what you thought I was going to when we talked on the SR-1, didn't I?"

"You did more than what I thought you would do after that day I came aboard."

"You did the impossible Shepard," Wrex said. "Every person on every world is indebted to you. My people one of biggest. We'll try to find a way to make it up to you because the statue isn't enough."

"To be honest," Shepard looked over at Wrex. "The way you can repay me is for you and the Turians and Salerians to play nice from here on." He looked over at Grunt. "And my biggest concern is with Grunt handling the idea of peace seeing how exited he gets just before the fight."

Some of the people in the group chuckled.

"Don't worry Shepard," Grunt said. "I've been learning the feelings of peace thanks to you and from the Krogan females now that they are working with the clans for a new leadership. From what little I learned in my tank of my people before this war, this new leadership will be different than the old and it will bring a better future to us."

"And when Grunt needs to burn off steam, I think he can become an official Armax Athlete once they set an arena up there," said Garrus.

"I'll find my way," Grunt replied.

"And under the circumstances, it's the best time to cooperate with the Turians and the Salerians thanks to you," Wrex said. "I'll do my part as will the others."

"Thanks Wrex," Shepard smiled.

"It's the least I can do," said Wrex. "Just make sure you can still run once you get out of that bed. After a long fight, you'll still need to walkout all the stress from of the fight."

"I'll be alright."

"Well we'd better get going Grunt. Tuchanka needs its own heroes to come back. See you around Shepard."

Wrex turned to the door and Grunt followed.

"I'd better get going too," said Jack. "Me and the kids have been sticking here long enough."

"Your students survived?" asked Shepard.

"All thanks to you actually," said Jack. "Most of the biotic artillery units were wiped out. But the kids have been game changers as supporters and they all survived having been behind the frontlines. After you activated the crucible and once the relays were reactivated, the kids wanted to stick around and help out on Earth before we headed back to Grissom."

"The school's open again?"

"Mostly using it as a refugee camp primarily for orphans."

"Well I'm glad to know that your new family is still there for you."

"Don't get all mushy Shepard," Jack shot back. "I still don't dig that sort of thing. Anyway, make sure you still are able to walk on your own when you get out of this hell hole that's called a hospital."

Jack walked out of the room and Shepard smiled. But several seconds after Jack walked out, two others walked in. Once again, Shepard was surprised to see two more friendly faces.

Kaiden Alanko and Joker.

"Hey Commander," Joker said. "Sorry we're late. We were in the middle of a supply run when the word came."

"Well better late than never," said Shepard. "I'm glad to see you two made it too."

"I'm just glad you were able to pull through by yourself this time Commander," Kaidan said. "We've been holding our breath ever since we got word that you were alive."

"Garrus said he didn't get to see me before Miranda fixed my face," said Shepard. "What happened with all of you?"

Joker took a seat and started the story from the beginning.

"After you got Liara and Garrus on board, the rest of the guys on the ground called for evac when the Reapers counter attacked. I got them out and pulled back up to orbit when Hackett gave the word that you made it onto the Citadel. The fighting was still hard but the fleets held out until you opened the arms. When the crucible armed, I..." Joker stumbled on his words and choked a little.

Kaiden carried on. "Hackett ordered the fleets to scatter and Joker didn't want to leave. I didn't want to either but I made the call. I'm sorry."

"It was the right call, Major," Shepard said. "I thought I was a dead man anyway."

He felt his hand tighten with Liara's grip. Her face showed the emotion that built up in her when he said it.

"It's okay," Liara said before Shepard could say anything. "I'm alright."

Joker continued with the story.

"We got through the Charon Relay into the Arcturus stream and punched FTL when we came through. The blast surged through the relay and followed us. I tried to out run the blast but it caught up."

"What happened?"

"We ended crash landing on some unknown jungle planet," Kaidan continued.

"Really?"

"Hell of a lucky break," Kaiden said. "Even more lucky that the planet had a breathable atmosphere."

"The engines were fried and systems were down when we got our bearings," Tali said. "We worked around the clock to get everything together. In about two weeks we got coms back online. At first we didn't get anything because we learned later that the com buoys were down. But then after two days we managed to get through to a fleet that was stationed in Arcturus. It turned out they repaired and replaced the buoys. We were then able to get communications through to Sol and to Admiral Hackett soon after."

"He told us about the situation in Sol," Kaidan continued again. "The fleets had returned to Earth after they repaired their engines and they got to work to repair the Relay and get everyone back to their home systems."

"So the relays were damaged?" Shapard asked.

"The blast ruptured every major relay in the star systems and they were inoperable. But the good knows was only half a dozen large pieces broke off so all the fleets needed to do was to tow the pieces into place and weld them back together and reactivate them. It took the fleets in Sol about three weeks to get the Charon relay working. After that, they've been jumping system by system to get the major routes back online."

"How is it now?"

"The routes to Palavin, Thessia, Tuchunka, Rannoch and all the other major worlds are fixed with several Secondary relays still in the works," Garrus continued the conversation. "I'd say in about one in a half more months the rest of the Relays will be back up."

"Alright good," Sheaprd said. "So what happened next with all of you after you got to Hackett."

"Hackett told us that you were alive," Liara said.

"All the more reason to work harder to get the drive core fixed," said Tali. "Me and the other engineers got it done in another week. It wasn't perfect but it would just be enough to get back to Arcturus and get through the relay to Sol."

Joker continued on. "We made it and met up with the fleets that were passing through. They gave us more repairs while we waited for the relay to Sol to be fixed. Since the Charon was fixed first, it was a one way trip for the fleets."

"Did it take long for the returning relay to be fixed?"

"Not as long because the fleet already at Arcturus had several Rachni workers who did most of the repairs before the fleet in Sol arrived. The other groups of the Rachni around the Galaxy did most of the work on the other Relays before they were finished by the fleets passing through. So after the relay to Sol was activated, we went through and came to you."

"So how long had you been waiting for me?"

"They arrived three in a half months ago, more or less," Miranda said.

"Well all of you needed to do something in that amount of time."

"Well, we just stuck around on earth for Reconstruction and relief efforts," Kaidan said. "Hackett made sure we could stay in the system so when you woke up."

"I managed to meet my family on Palavin," Garrus said. "But I came back to Earth be there when you woke up."

"Wrex had to head to Tuchunka when the relay was opened and he came to visit when he had free time," Vega said. "And he was lucky he came when he did because he was in town when you woke up."

"What about you Tali?" Shepard asked. "Shouldn't you be on Rannoch with your people?"

"They arrived at Rannoch a month ago once the network to there was fixed. I wanted to join them but the admirals said they had it handled and I should stay on Earth for your sake."

Shepard smiled.

But it was then that Shepard remembered. Rannoch, where the geth...

_The Crucible will not discriminate. All synthetics will be targeted._

"Wait. EDI... where is she?"

Shepard's gaze shot to Joker. As he expected, Joker showed a very depressed look. The group was in silence for several seconds looking at each other with concerned looks on their faces. Afterwards Liara leaned over to him and spoke with much empathy in her voice.

"We were hoping to tell you after you recovered. But I believe we should tell you now."

Shepard's fears turned into guilt before Tali started to explain.

"When Joker landed the ship after the blast knocked us out of FTL, EDI was offline but even when we repaired the A.I. core as best we could, it wouldn't respond. It was empty."

"She's dead?"

"Unfortunately that seems to be the case," Kaiden said. "Nothing from the AI core or her body even when Tali and the others were able to fix both of them top to bottom."

Shepard closed his eyes. EDI was really dead from the sound of it.

"And the Geth?" He opened his eyes and looked over at Tali.

"From the reports, the Reaper thralls on Earth and the rest of the Galaxy were vaporized while the organics were left alone," Tali said. "When the blast reached the Geth troops on the ground they were severely damaged and they became non-functional. When the Flotilla got back together at Sol, they set out to find the Geth fleet that hadn't returned."

"What did they find?"

"The fleets found several groups of the geth ships in open space outside the sol system. When they boarded them, they were like ghost ships. The platforms were laying around dead and the processors and ship equipment was just... dead. They salvaged what they could and towed several of the ships back to Sol. I met up with the Flotilla in Arcturus and I examined the platforms and the signal boosters. I found basically nothing. They brought the rest to Rannoch for study along with the other Geth platforms and devices that were stationed there. I haven't heard much from them but it doesn't look like they found anything out of them."

Shepard closed his eyes and brought his palm up to his for head. The guilt and anguish overtook him. He had hoped that the destruction of all synthetics was a bluff from the Catalyst, especially since survived the blast being partly synthetic. But hearing what Tali said, EDI was really gone and the Geth were too. And he killed them.

"I'm so sorry, Shepard," Liara brought his hand into hers. "We didn't foresee any of this. You couldn't have known."

Shepard looked up at Liara and the rest of the people still in the room. He had a cold look on his face.

"I only wish that weren't true."

The silence filled the room as the trace of Shepard's guilt flowed in the air. Shepard closed his eyes. It was going to be painful to tell them with all the good news he was hearing about the Galaxy. But they needed to know the truth. He opened his eyes and he told them.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Very sorry for the delay. Work's been very time consuming and I've been battling procrastination like every writer does. But I've finally got this chapter done and hopefully it'll be smoother sailing from here.

As always, please leave a review and/or PM me to tell me what you think of my ideas, my writing and what you think I can do better. This is the fic that I want to get right and your support can make this fic the best I can make it. Thank you so much and see you on the next Chapter. :)


	5. Chapter 5

He told them the story of what happened after the Normandy left the beam with Liara and Garrus aboard. He told them when he stood up after he was blasted by Harbinger to where he confronted the Illusive man. And he told them that he, under the Illusive man's influence, pulled the trigger on Anderson.

When he brought Anderson up, he choked for a moment. Liara leaned close to him to comfort him and Kaiden told that his body had been recovered in the ruins of the Citadel. But his memorial service was halted by Hackett until Shepard had recovered, if he recovered. Once he was out, Shepard would lead it right away.

Shepard continued with his story. After the Illusive Man shot himself, Shepard opened the Citadel and said his last words to Anderson before he bled to death and Shepard passed out to later find himself on the underside of the Citadel where he met the Catalyst. Then, Shepard told them about the three options to activate the Crucible. And he stopped the story there. He didn't open his eyes for nearly ten seconds. He could feel the tension between everyone from the silence that followed. After nearly a minute of silence and motionlessness, Joker stood from his chair. He looked around at the others in the room before he turned to the door and limped his frail and brittle body toward it. He was obviously the one who'd be most affected by it. The person he grew close to was gone and Shepard was the one who killed her.

"Joker you know he didn't have a choice!" The door behind Joker closed just as Vega finished his sentence.

"What do you mean?" Shepard opened his eyes but didn't look at Vega or anyone else.

Vega turned his head over to Shepard with his mouth slightly slanted open.

"Are you saying that you were considering those other choices?" Vega sounded tense perhaps a little angry.

"So you thought I did the right thing?" Shepard asked.

"Hell yeah! What do you think we've been doing for these past few weeks?" Vega said almost shouting. "To blow those Motherfuckers to the hell the came from! "

"But it killed the Geth and EDI," Kaidan said to him.

"Are you saying that both of you think that Illusive fucker was right? That we should be like those machines?"

"That's not what I'm saying," Kaiden walked up to Vega.

"Then what are you saying? That we should all get a DNA makeover instead?"

"Settle down both of you!" Liara jumped up out of her seat. She sounded so angry but more sad. Shepard could imagine why. How he was in a situation that he was sure that he was going to die and he could have done something different than the choice he made that ended up giving him back to her. "Shepard did what he did and nothing can change that!"

Vega tightened his fist and gritted his teeth. His anger dissipated quickly and he released his fists. Kaidan stepped away from Vega to where he stood before.

"I'm sorry," Vega said with a calmer voice. "I just couldn't imagine you choosing either of those alternatives. I mean, the Illusive man was all about controlling them and he was indoctrinated just like the rest of Cerberus."

"I too must agree," Javik said surprisingly calm from the tension between everyone. "If this entity that was the controller of the Reapers had given you the choice to let you take its place, it was most likely a trick to indoctrinate you."

He did have a point. Vendetta, the Prothean VI on Thessia, said himself that the ones who argued to control the Reapers in the previous cycle were indoctrinated and the Catalyst himself told Shepard that the Illusive man was indoctrinated. And the Catalyst itself confirmed that the Illusive man was indoctrinated. But in that moment, it felt like the Catalyst was sincere and Shepard could be able to do it. But was the Catalyst deceiving him? He didn't know and he wouldn't know now.

"And what the fuck was synthesis supposed do?" Vega said.

"I'm thinking we might have ended up like Saren." Garrus said. "Half of our bodies implanted with machinery that might have been accessed by the Reapers."

Shepard remembered what Saran had said to him during their final confrontation on the Citadel when Sovereign took it over.

_The relationship is symbiotic. Organic and Machine intertwined, a union of flesh and steel. The strengths of both, the weaknesses of neither. I am a vision of the future Shepard. The evolution of all organic life. This is our destiny._

And in the end, he was indoctrinated and he shot himself when Shepard convinced him that he was. And when he was dead, his body had been turned inside out into a monsterous figure that tried to kill Shepard before Sovereign opened the relay for the Reapers to arrive. There was no real agenda to make the galaxy better by merging organic and synthetic life. It was all just to have the species fight each other to make the Reaper's task easier.

"Guess we'll never find out," Shepard said.

"But even if that didn't happen and we get something that's acceptable, there's a good reason why I don't want any of that to happen to me," Vega lifted his large arm and flexed it for all to see. "I built these myself and if you forced me to have synthetic implants I..." Vega stopped midsentence when he realized that one person in the room was actually like that right now "Well, I mean you're-"

"It's ok James. I get the point," Shepard said when he looked up at him for the first time in several minutes.

"Ok," Vega felt relived and put his arm down. "Anyway I'm just glad you didn't do what you didn't. I know it was another hard choice for you to make. Probably the hardest any person in the galaxy could ever make. But I think you did the right thing."

He looked over at Liara who showed so much emotional conflict within her. The thoughts of him possibly becoming the Reaper's leader or choosing to dematerialize himself to change the fabric of life in the galaxy obviously lingered in her mind. But the one that she displayed the most was empathy for him. She and the crew knew the burdens he had to endure when a difficult decision had to be made. Leaving Ashley to die on Vermir to die while the rest of the crew could escape. Having to send the asteroid into the Alpha relay with having no way of warning the Batarian colonists in time before the system was wiped out. And now, another one of their crew was dead and an entire synthetic race was now extinct. And it weighed on him. But he was glad that these people were there for him.

"Maybe we should go," Kaidan said to the others after another a long silence between them. "This thing has probably taken a toll on all of us, not just Joker. We all just need some time."

The conversations were so good and the news of the reconstruction of the galaxy was very good. But now it seemed to have all died down now that Shepard admitted the truth. It didn't feel right to have everyone leave on this low note, but the feelings needed to run the course if they were to move on.

"I'm glad all of you stopped by," Shepard said. "I mean that."

"We know you are," said Tali.

One by one everyone left the room giving a friendly goodbye to the Commander. Miranda completed her tests and left after most of the others had left. The last person to leave was Kaidan. He stopped at the door and looked back at the Commander.

"Shepard," he said. "You should know that there are good things that came out of this. Not just choosing to destroy the Reapers, but making a choice to activate the Crucible. Just think about that."

The door closed behind Kaidan and Shepard and Liara were left alone again.

"Are you alright?" she asked him.

"I don't know," Shepard said with an absent voice. With everything that happened and the realization of the consequences of his choice had come true, he truly felt lost. But his mind drifted back enough to look up at Liara again.

"But what about you," he asked.

"I don't know either," Liara replied. "If you need some time I-"

She was about to leave her seat but Shepard brought his hand up and gently grabbed her arm. She read his face and it meant that he wanted her to stay at his side for a while longer. She sat back down next to him clasped his hand over his chest.

"I'm here for you Shepard," Liara said looking into his eyes.

"And I'm happy that you are," he said in return. It was a dark time for him, but Liara would be there for him like he was there for her after the fall of Thessia. The love she had for him numbed most of the pain that lingered in his heart. With time, he would be able to move on.

* * *

**Author's note: **A little shorter than usual but the next one will be more interesting and it'll get the plot going. See you next chapter.


	6. Chapter 6

The days had passed by relatively quickly. Shepard had slept often but he had woken up a few times from nightmares he couldn't remember. Liara had been there for him most of the time to comfort him but he let her know that she could leave to continue her work as the Shadow Broker. She probably had her work cut out for her now that the war was over and everyone was putting the pieces back together. But she told Shepard that Feron had set up a new base of operations out in the Terminus system and he took most of the weight off of Liara's shoulders when she had returned to Earth to be with Shepard. Nevertheless, she left the hospital to get back to her work.

The thoughts of EDI and the Geth had still lingered in Shepard's mind but he started to adjust as time went by. He watched news broadcasts on the reconstruction of Earth but there were several stories on the progress of the other worlds. Overall the reconstruction was picking up at a very good pace. Several of the fleets' engineer groups had decided to stay on Earth to aid in its reconstruction. The main reasons why they stayed was probably because of the Citadel since it was still in orbit above Earth but most of the effort was focused on the cities around the planet. When Shepard saw footage of the Citadel, he was surprised by what he saw. The Citadel had taken sever damage and two of the arms had broken off a third of the way down. It made him feel bad for the people who were trapped there when the Reapers acquired it. When the Crucible fired, many of the survivors seemed to have perished when the station ruptured. But considering that Shepard had seen Al-Julani reporting the previous day and Conrad in one of her interviews, it meant that at least some of the inhabitants survived and were moved to Earth's surface. From the more recent footage, the major pieces of the Citadel had been towed back into place and were starting to be fused back with the main part of the station. All that had to be done now was to get the rest of the pieces back together and repair the damage.

Over the next few days, he received more visits from more familiar faces.

Jacob Taylor walked into the room in the mid morning after Shepard had breakfast provided by Miranda after she ran her usual tests on him. Liara was reluctantly out doing her Shadow Broker work.

"Glad to see you're still alive," Shepard said when Jacob arrived.

"Same to you," Jacob said. "I'm just glad Miranda didn't have to rebuild you again."

"I can hardly believe it myself either."

"Well the important thing is you've made it back."

"Yeah," Shepard smiled. "How's Brynn doing?"

"She's due in a few weeks. And...," Jacob brought his hand up to show him the ring. "I finally tied the knot."

After Shepard pulled out Jacob and the other scientists on Gellix when Cerberus was closing in, Jacob told him about his relationship with the leader Dr. Brynn Cole and he told him that he was going to be a father. Now that the war was over, they had finally had time to officially get together with her.

"Congratulations Jacob. I wish I were there for the wedding," Shepard said.

"It's alright, you needed to concentrate on surviving. Several of the others came and that was good."

"Ready to be a father?"

"I admit I am still a little nervous but I feel like I can do it. More than I ever was before."

"You'll do a good job I know you will."

"I know," Jacob smiled. "And I know that you'll be a good one too when the time comes."

Shepard came to his realization when he heard Jacob's comment.

_Little Blue Children._ Just like he promised Liara after their adventure to take down the Shadow Broker.

"Anyway," Jacob continued when Shepard's silence answered his comment. "Once you get out of here, I'll bring you over to that bar in Rio. After everything you had to do, you deserve a few drinks."

"Thanks Jacob," Shepard smiled.

Jacob left after several more minutes. After Shepard had lunch, the next visitor arrived.

"Well, look who's still alive after finally ripping the guts out of the beast," Zaeed said. He held a long black leather box in his hand.

"I'm surprised you've come by Zaeed," Shepard said. "Thought maybe you'd be heading out to find more work now that the war's over."

"I was but I eventually came back here," Zaeed said. "Not many contracts to fulfill with many of the merc groups out of business in the Terminus system. It's been relatively quiet now that the war's over."

"So what brings you back here?" Shepard didn't believe he would come back to Earth just to visit him.

"I've been giving a helping hand in dismantling the Reaper corpses all over the planet as well as take care of some potential crime lords trying to gain some ground. But I've mostly come here to claim my spot in the Cayman Islands."

Shepard grinned. The thought of Zaeed sitting down on a beach was almost unreal. "Settling down are you?"

"I've gotten quite a savings since the war ended. And my collection of Reaper and Cerberus trophies has helped me out quite a bit. Those things are selling pretty well on the market."

Shepard chuckled for a second. Zaeed had always been about war stories and he brought several souvenirs with him aboard the Normandy when he was recruited for the suicide mission against the collectors.

"And here's some news that you might find interesting," Zaeed said. "Vido's dead."

Vido. The man who betrayed Zaeed after they founded the Blue Suns together. After 20 years of hunting him down, Zaeed had found him on Zorya with Shepard's help. They were doing well but Zaeed let his personal vendetta get the better of him and caused Shepard to deviate from the mission to save the slaves working in the plant that was set ablaze. In the end, Vido escaped with and angry Zaeed shooting his escape gunship. But after a discipline talk with him, Zaeed managed to put aside the vendetta to accomplish the suicide mission with him surviving along with the others.

"You found him?"

"No he died in an op against the Reapers since you've managed to get the Blue Suns into Aria's pocket. Can't say I've had the satisfaction of ripping his heart out myself but at least the bastard finally got what he deserved. Anyway I've brought you something."

He brought up the leather box and opened it.

"A Cerburus Phantom sword?"

"There was a raid that I was around to fight against. The bitch got behind me when I had her cornered. But I fired a concussive shot right in her gut before she got close enough to kill me with this thing. Broke her barrier and I managed put her to the ground with my bare hands and smash her skull with my boot. Took the sword as a souvenir."

"Then it's your trophy not mine," Shepard said.

"Please, I've got at least five of these things and others. Besides you've killed the biggest Cerberus fucker and you broke his sword. You should get a replacement."

"Yeah well that sword needed to be broken," Shepard remembered the rematch he had against Kai Leng at Cronos station when he went in to recover what Kai Leng had stolen from him on Thessia. Once Leng was down, he had somehow mustered enough energy to try and put the blade into Shepard's heart from behind him. But Shepard saw it coming and shattered the sword that had taken the life of Thane Krios and put an Omni-blade into the assassin's heart.

"But thanks Zaeed."

"Right," He placed the case against the nightstand next to Shepard's bed. "Now you'd better get off your ass soon. You've got to stand over the corpses of those metal squid bastards that you've sent back to hell."

"I'll get on that. See you around."

Zaeed walked out the door. Another hour passed and the next visitor arrived.

"Kasumi, it's good to see you."

"Same to you, Shep," Kasumi said with her playful smile.

"How's the work of raiding Cerberus bases been?"

"It's been very fun and no doubt there will be more to do once everything is back to way it was."

"Well hopefully it'll be different this time," Shepard said.

"Oh, I believe it will no doubt. A big part thanks to you."

Shepard smiled at her kind words.

"So what are you up to now?" he asked.

"Been using the fortunes I've picked up to fund relief charities. As for the physical part, I've mostly been giving refugee support but recently I've found several locations of interest to continue what I do best. I've also been working part time for the Shadow Broker."

_Part time?_

"Stealing information now?" He asked.

"Not quite as fun as stealing priceless art or fun toys in labs, but it's still easy to get in and get dirt on the powers-that-be while taking a small bit of their fortunes to leave a mark. By the way, I think I said that the drinks are on me once it was all over. So once you get out, I'll pay."

"We'll meet up with Jacob in Rio when it's time," Shepard said.

"Alright then. And by the way, I've got something for you."

She pulled out something from her pocket and showed it to Shepard.

"I've been meeting with Tali and we've made a custom Omni-tool for you. All your personal information has been synced to it so you can now receive calls and play around with it like your old one."

"Thanks Kasumi. I'm glad to have had you on the team."

Several minutes after Kasumi left, Shepard's new Omni-tool buzzed and blinked on the back of his hand. He activated it and saw it was a video call to him. He swiped it in the direction of the television monitor and the screen turned on. The image of Samara appeared looking at him.

"Shepard," She said with a warm smile. "It's very good that you've made it through the final hour."

"It's good to see you too Samara," Shepard said. "Where are you now?"

"I have returned to Thessia to aid in the reconstruction of our home."

"How is it?"

"The planet has taken a great amount of destruction when it had fallen but now that the Reapers are dealt with, we can now come home to rebuild what was lost. And I am happy for you to have returned to your home to see it again."

"I've only seen the vids and what's out the window. But I'll be on my feet in a few more hours. How is Falere doing?"

"We have been separated for quite some time since you activated the crucible. But she has been able to rebuild a part of the monastery and survived long enough until I was able to come to her. The Asari are now rebuilding it and I'm watching her in the mean time."

"Well I'm happy that you still have a family to come back to," Shepard said.

"As am I for you," Samara replied. "I am sorry for Anderson. I understand he was a father to you."

"The only one I've known. It's hard losing close friends and family. But I know that I've made him proud in the end."

"Him and every family in the galaxy. I'm happy for you and I wish you the best when you tell your children your story."

Shepard flinched again when the word "Children" came into his ear. His life was now set before him and a family was the one thing that he had dreamed of when the conflict was over.

"Any advice on how to raise Asari Children?" Sheaprd asked.

"Only that you love them with all your heart and devotion. Something that I wasn't capable of doing."

Samara did seem to feel a little disheartened when she realized that two of her family were gone. One of them had to die by her hand to end her psychotic killing spree while the other was being turned into a Reaper monster and stayed behind to activate the bomb to purge the monastery. But Shepard felt that Samara was there for her children in the end because she returned to save Falere. And when the monastery was destroyed and her last Ardat-Yakshi was outside a monastery, Samara had to follow her code. But instead of killing her last daughter as the code would have her do, she pulled her gun on herself to let Falare live. But with Shepard's intervention, Samara was stopped to hear that Falere would stay in what was left of the Monestary saying that she had made her choice to stay no matter the opportunity to leave. In the end, both mother and daughter were alive.

"You still have Falere because you came for her. You've done what you did. I think you're a good person and a good parent to be honest."

"I suppose you are right. Thank you Shepard. May you continue your recovery to full health."

The screen turned dark and Liara had returned to his room after a few minutes. The look on her face said that she was eager to come back to his side again.

"Miss me already?" Shepard playfully asked her.

She smiled. "You have no idea."

Behind her, three more people followed. Garrus, Tali and Kaidan walked in.

"Feeling better Shepard?" Tali asked.

"I'm managing," Shepard said. "I've gotten a few visits from more friends."

"That's good to know," Kaiden said. "Anyone in particular?"

"Jacob dropped by and showed me his ring. Said some of you attended the wedding."

"It was fun," Laira said. "I'm sorry you weren't awake when it happened."

"Yeah well Jacob said it was alright."

"What's that over there?" Garrus noted the leather case standing against the night stand.

"A present from Zaeed. Gave up one of his Cerberus swords for me. I'm debating on whether or not to keep it."

"Could be a nice touch like the other things you've collected. Models are one thing but antique weapons are another."

"That reminds me, did any of my models in my cabin break?"

"The glass was broken but no significant damage to your little ships," Tali said. "We've got the case replaced and put them back to where they were."

"Thanks," Shepard said.

"Anyone else?" Tali asked.

"Kasumi dropped by and she told me what she was up to," He looked over at Liara. "Apparently she's into information of all things these days."

"She's been helpful in getting the information that might be necessary to keep the galaxy from spiraling out of control again," Liara said.

"Any specific locations she's been to?"

"Mostly Omega and Illium. They've been the key contributors of funding the reconstruction effort."

_hmph._ Shepard breathed out of his nose. Omega and Illium, the two centers of scum in the galaxy. One was a lawless asteroid where survival and dominance by violence are the name of the game while another was a bureaucratic trap that kept the rich up high and the poor down low.

"How are things at both?"

"Well after you went with Aria T'loak to take back Omega from Cerberus, the new Omega Coalition of Cargo Transporters made their deliveries of Eezo to the fleets around the Galaxy. With her resources and the mines around Terminus under her control, she's been able to get the materials where they needed to go. And when the Crucible fired, her ships were able to fix many of the relays before the Alliance and the other fleets met up with hers."

"So you're keeping an eye on her too?"

"She's been quiet and civil, more or less. But there's always a chance cracks that might cause trouble and I'll know about it."

Out in the Terminus system, the lawless were unpredictable with a new gang and a new merc group coming out every month. While some fail to get started, others managed to stick around for a little longer and some even rise to become a new force to be reckoned with in the galaxy. The prime examples, The Blue Suns, Eclipse and the Blood pack.

"Like the Blood pack or Blue suns?" Shepard asked her.

"The merc groups that you've managed to get into her hands are playing nice for now. And now that I've got eyes in there, I'll know if they attempt to disturb the peace you've worked so hard for."

"Well thanks," Shepard said. "What about Illium?"

"Well as you might know, Illium was defended tooth and nail so the wealth of the planet could keep running for the war effort and the aristocrats could keep their bank accounts intact. It's now being used to jump start the economy. Kasumi's been doing her own tricks on them while still doing information extractions for me."

"She said that she's been hacking CEO terminals to get dirt on the powers-that-be."

"Nothing would be worse than destroying the Reapers only to have the bureaucrats take the galaxy over afterward," Garrus spoke up.

"To be honest, they've already controlled the galaxy before the Reapers arrived," Liara said. "But now that their security is venerable, I'll be able to get agents in to keep a closer eye on them and I'll be able to leak any dirt they have to the public."

Shepard had heard of some things Liara was able to do when she became the Shadow Broker including a smear campaign against a corrupt politician and a tried, but failed, exposure of the Blue Suns' corruption of turning on their employers. With her agents and Kasumi's help, they'd be able to keep an eye out for any funny bureaucrat from taking advantage of the Galaxy's weakened state. Expose the truth and let the populace take over.

"Well at least you two have something to do," Shepard said to Liara. He turned his head to Tali.

"And speaking of which..." he activated his new Omni-tool for everyone to see. "Kasumi dropped off a gift for me. She said that you helped make it."

"When I wasn't out helping to repair vessels around Earth, I've been working on improving an advanced design for you," Tali said. "Does it work?"

"It worked when I receiving a call from Samara. She and Falere are doing alright," he looked over at Liara again. "And she told me what's happening on Thessia."

"Things are looking good," she said in return. "It's like you said, 'It can be rebuilt.'"

Shepard's mind felt a pause of relief. After Thessia, Liara was torn like he was when he left Earth behind. He was more angry that he failed to get the VI to know where the Catalyst was and he watched as Thessia had fallen to the Reaper's onslaught. But when he saw Liara angry and sad about the Truth of the origins of the Asari's culture was a manipulation of the Protheans in the previous cycle and the fall of her world, he felt his deeper part of his soul torn out of him. But he managed kept his cool long enough to cheer Liara up to get back to work with a focused mind.

"Is there any trouble the Asari had to face now that the galaxy knows about the Prothean beacon there?"

"The Materiarchs have been receiving fire from several species for not telling them, but overall, everyone's playing relatively nice. After finishing a war, the last thing we need is more conflict."

Shepard closed his eyes and sighed in relief. Hearing those words felt very comforting considering he went out of his way to bring the Turians and Krogan together as well as the Geth and Quarians before he made his difficult choice.

"So I've never got the chance to ask you?" Shepard looked up at the others. "What have you been up to when I was asleep?"

"We were assigned to make supply runs for the reconstruction effort," Kaiden said. "Hackett made sure that we'd be able to keep it close to the Sol system so we could come to you as quick as we could when you woke up. And since the ship didn't have its acting commander, well..." Kaidan paused looking a little uneasy. "I basically took the helm being the next Alliance officer in line."

"There's no one else I would have entrusted the Normandy to besides you Kaiden."

"Thanks Commander. It means a lot."

A silence followed. It was brief but Shepard had something he needed to get off his chest

"I know it's not something I should bring up but... do you know what Joker's been up to?"

The group was silent for a moment before Kaiden replied.

"He's been at the bar like we'd all would have expected."

It was hard for Shepard knowing that one of his closest colleges was distancing himself and drowning out the misery with alcohol. When something happened that was catastrophic to you, you'd want to drown it away in the murkiness of alcohol.

"I've tried to talk to him once but he was very drunk and he said some things," Liara said with some regret in her voice.

"Like what?" Shepard said with concern.

Shepard could read the uneasiness in Liara's eyes as she formed her words. "He said he did his duty for you and pulled you out of many hot spots and you repaid him with killing the one person he cared for. And he talked about how unfair it was that you got to live your life with me while he had no one."

The sting had come even before Liara finished her recount. He was very happy to have lived to see Liara again. But when he looked back at the choice that he had to make, the thoughts of ensuring that EDI would survive while he truly died as a human person took a hold of his heart. Prior to assaulting Cronos station, Joker was afraid when EDI was going onto the station. He told Shepard to keep her safe. He did, until the final moment when the fate of the galaxy bore down on his shoulders.

"Shepard," Liara said before he could descend deeper into grief. "You know as well as I that he didn't mean what he said."

After many battles and many missions with Joker, Shepard knew that Joker wouldn't actually say and mean those things. Joker did say he still felt guilty when Shepard died on the SR-1 when he came to get Joker out of the cockpit. Shepard nodded in response to Liara's words showing he understood. Like Kaiden said, he just needed time. It was time to move on with the subject.

"There's something I've been wanting to ask you Kaiden," He looked up at him.

"What is it?"

"What did you mean when you said there were good things that came out by activating the Crucible?"

"Well you were given a hard choice and you went through with one of those choices instead of not choosing any."

"But why would I not choose to activate the Crucible?"

"I don't know," Kaiden said. "But the fact is that you did make a choice and you went through with it. If you didn't, we'd all have failed and be dead and the next cycle would start."

Hearing Kaidan's words made Shepard think for a moment. On the Citadel, the AI that controlled the Reapers had given him three ways to activate the Crucible, each one with a number of good and bad side effects. When he looked at the picture that was presented back then, he had united almost the entire galaxy and they had packed a pretty big punch against the Reapers when they fought together. But the thought of him not using the Crucible at all was something that was unthinkable. Since the war began, Hackett had told him that even with everyone's combined strength, they couldn't win the war conventionally. They needed the Crucible to work. And besides why would he let more people die, including his friends, in the long run? Well whatever the reason he put it out of his mind.

"Thanks Kaidan," Shepard said to him. "I know it's not much but thanks."

"Anytime Shepard," Kaidan said. "Is there anything else you wanted to talk about?"

"I was wondering about what happened with the Citadel. I've seen the vids and it doesn't look really good."

"When the fleets returned, they went down to explore the ruins," Garrus said. "Many of the people took cover in the wards and the presidium and held off as best they could. When the blast happened several people perished in the further reaches of the wards but quite a few survived."

"I know Al-Julini and Conrad survived but are there others we know?"

"Bailey's alright and Kelly Chambers said hi when I ran into her in the camp they were moved to," Garrus said. "And Jenna's still alive and Doctor Michel's doing alright too. For the most part, many people on the Citadel were able to pull through once the fleets got them down to the planet's surface. They're being tended to and those who are alright are helping out in the reconstruction effort on Earth."

"As for the Citadel itself, the large pieces of it were towed back into place," Tali picked up. "The Keepers are helping out as usual and several of the fleets' engineers are putting it back together. And several Rachni came over to give a hand."

The Rachni. Yet again. They told him that they were a great help when the relays were being rebuilt and cut the time it took to get them back online.

"Well I'm glad they've decided to help," Shepard said with a grin. "It almost feels like they're overworking themselves since they helped build the Crucible and fix the Relays."

"The Queen said that she insisted she help on behalf of you actually," Garrus said.

"She said that? How?" The only way Shepard was able to communicate to the queen both times he encountered her was through a dead or dying organic host. On Noveria, she spoke through a dying Asari Commando while on Utukku it was several of the dead Krogen scouts in her chamber.

Tali spoke up. "When the Queen was moved to the construction site, she and her workers had found a way to communicate via an audio device. She was able to give verbal and textual messages to those around her. She said that she and her children felt that they still needed to repay you for saving their lives twice already and the Crucible wasn't enough. So they decided that they would help with the Relays and the Citadel."

Garrus continued. "Now with her help and everyone else pulling double duty, it's estimated that the citadel will be back together and livable in about two years time and all the reconstruction of the smaller pieces and the buildings that were damaged will take around seven years with the rachni's help."

It was then that Shepard remembered. He looked over at Liara.

"What about your father, Liara? Atheta?"

During some down time at Apollo's cafe on the presidium, Shepard ran into Matriarch Atheta who came from Illium to the Citadel to keep an eye on Liara for the Asari Matriarchs. They only knew that she was a powerful information broker, not _the_ most powerful and secretive. Plus Shepard's relationship with her aroused their suspicion due to his past with Cerberus. After Atheta told him that she was Liara's "father," he went over to Liara and convinced her to go and talk to her. Whatever their conversation came to, Liara informed Shepard that Atheta had told some friends of hers, Asari Commandos to be precise, would join the war effort with the rest of the fleets that Shepard was gathering. When Liara talked to him about her father-daughter moment, she avoided most of the details and said that Atheta was the best father a girl could wish for when she told her of the Commandos joining.

Liara was silent for a moment and her eyes showed that the news was going to be bad. Shepard braced himself.

"She was injured when the Reapers took the Citadel. She survived the crucible's blast but..." Liara paused with pain in her voice. "Her injury was too much in the end."

Hearing the words crushed Shepard yet again. First her mother and now her Asari father had just died.

"I'm so sorry Liara," Shepard said to her sounding as empathic as he could be. He never knew his real parents growing up and they probably were dead too. But he managed to find happiness in his life in the end and he wanted her to be happy too.

"Thank you Shepard," Liara accepted Shepard's comfort. "I managed to visit her before she passed away. She said she was happy for me and said that she trusts you to be with me."

That was good to know. It still hurt Shepard knowing that, with his relationship with Liara, Atheta would have been his father-in-law some day. A silence embraced the room afterwards.

"Well I'm glad you're doing better Shepard," Kaidan said after . "Before we head out, we wanted to tell you something."

"What?"

"Hackett's been organizing the fleets with the reconstruction effort and he's been able to find some time to talk to you in person."

"When?"

"Miranda said that you're going try to stand and walk tomorrow so once you get off your feet you can meet him. He understood that you'd want to be able to stand when you see him so he put time off until you got back on your feet."

Shepard smiled briefly. Hackett knew much about Shepard indeed. He didn't want to be in a hospital bed when he was met by his superior officer. Especially when he was going to talk to him about what he did.

"He'll wants a debrief in person?"

"He's always about the 'in person' thing we've found out," Kaidan said.

Kaidan was right about that. After Shepard destroyed the Alpha relay, Hackett came to the Normandy himself to talk to Shepard about what happened. The way he interacted with his officers showed that he did his part best when he knew the people and saw their faces when they talked to him. If Hackett was coming, then Shepard better get ready for him.

"We'll leave you to rest so you can be on your feet when he arrives," Tali said.

"Thanks for coming by again," Shepard said. Garrus, Kaidan and Tali left the room several minutes later leaving the couple alone together again.

"And don't worry Shepard," Liara said when they had left. "I have your wardrobe ready for when he comes."

"Thanks Liara," Shepard said with his loving smile.

"My pleasure," she said in return.

* * *

**Author's Note:** First off, refusal shouldn't even be an option in my opinion because it's just stupid to even consider choosing it. But RPGs are supposed to have stupid decisions like choosing to have a one-night-stand with Morinth if you were stupid enough to choose her over Samara in the first place. So I had a little fun poking at that part of the ending. XD

This story has been very fun to make so far and I couldn't believe how much I've been able to get done in the last few days. I'm getting to work on Chapter 7 now and I'll have it up by next week on Sunday and the chapters beyond that will follow closely. As always, leave a review to tell me what you enjoyed and what I'm getting right and what I should improve on. A "You're doing great keep it up," comment is alright but comments that give more details about my work are the ones that help me keep going and improve myself to make this fic the best I can make it. Thank you for reading and see you on the next chapter. :)


	7. Chapter 7

Shepard moved his muscles in his leg and pulled the limb toward him and curled it up against his torso.

"How does it feel?" Miranda asked.

"It's stiff," Shepard said. "But that's the good kind of pain."

"Alright, go ahead and flex the other one."

Shepard did so and he felt the same thing. Once he did it for both he returned them to where they were.

"Alright," Miranda said. "Time for the second hurdle. Let's get you out of this bed."

With Liara's help, Shepard turned and swung his feet over the side of the bed. He took a deep breath and leaned forward and his feet contacted the carpet. His legs slowly supported his weight with more pain surging through them.

"Doing alright?" Miranda asked.

"Painful but I'm adjusting," Shepard said. He had a good footing and stood on his own.

"Alright, two hurtles down one to go," Miranda stepped to the far side of the room by the TV monitor. "See if you can walk to me."

Shepard turned in the direction of Miranda. The first step took a moment before Shepard lifted his leg in front of him. The pain had changed from the good stiff feeling to sharp and unpleasant. The next step followed and the same feeling came. But he managed to keep himself balanced on his own until he reached the wall next to Miranda.

"Good," Miranda said. "How are you feeling?"

"The pain isn't the pleasant type anymore," Shepard replied. "But I think that I can manage. I'll just need to walk it out."

"Just don't walk too hard to fast. Just take it slow and rest often." Miranda said. "Okay see if you can walk back to Liara."

Shepard did so with the same feelings in his legs. When he reached Liara, she brought her hands to his arms to hold him steady. They looked into each other's eyes and smiled before Shepard settled down on the bed. He felt good about himself.

"Alright Shepard, Hackett will be here in a few hours so I'd suggest you rest before you get ready. I'll give you the all clear when he arrives so you can leave after your debrief."

"Thanks Miranda," Shepard said. Miranda smiled and walked out the door.

Several hours had past and Shepard switched between resting and walking around the room. He was getting walking down pretty well but he would have to take it slow for quite a while. He was in no condition to run anytime soon.

Time passed and it was about thirty minutes before Hackett would be arriving. Liara got up and went over to the suitcase she had brought earlier in the morning. Inside was a set of his uniform pants and the other components. His actual uniform lay on one of the chairs by the case. With Liara's help, Shepard was able to maneuver his body to slip on the components of his uniform until he was fully clothed. He stood and walked over to the window to see his vague reflection through it. He looked like the way he was when he put on his uniform on during his time on the Normandy for the summate to get the Krogan and Turians onboard for the war.

But what was different was the scars that were on his face. They weren't as bad as he thought they would look like. The serious scaring he had when he woke up after Project Lazarus had left his face with glowing red markings that looked more like cracks in a rock than skin deformations. But with his positive attitude, the scares had healed by themselves to become unnoticeable. Now, the ones he had were regular scars in his skin that didn't glow red, at least not if you looked at them closely enough for an extended time. Four major ones had took a hold of it. One ran from the crux of his nose to his lower cheek. Another from his left eye brow over his eye and over the first one. The third came up from his chin all the way up to his right cheekbone and the last ran from the right side of his nose over his lip and intersected with the one up from his chin.

With Liara's help, they exited Shepard's room into the hallway. The Krogan soldier who kept watch outside the door walked in front of the pair and escorted them down the hall. The both of them made their way slowly and steadily. They passed several rooms and many of them were filled with patents, mostly humans but some non-humans. Even months after the fighting had stopped, there were still several people who needed attention with the reconstruction happening. When Shepard passed the rooms, several of the patients looked out the window and saw him. When Shepard made eye contact with some of them, they looked back at him with a look that people gave in the presence of a hero. Shepard still had a hard time adjusting to the whole hero image. After his fight on Elysium, he was looked up to by the people on the planet but when time moved on, the people around the galaxy looked at him with a normal or appreciative look for him as a regular soldier. After Sovereign's attack on the Citadel, people, not just humans, were looking at him the same way as the people on Elysium did. When he died and was brought back two years later, he didn't get many looks except for some people he ran into who recognized him. The hero image had faded but not entirely. After the suicide mission, he didn't see many faces at all when he was under house arrest. But now, waking up on Earth, whose people had experienced the worst kind of hell that anyone could experience, the people looked up and saw what they believed to be their savior. And from the vids he saw of the people wishing him well on his recovery, they all shared the same look. Everyone everywhere had experienced first hand the cruelness of the Reapers. It was now that he knew that he was a hero to everyone everywhere.

They reached the elevator and walked inside. The back window looked out to the city. As the elevator descended, Shepard saw what the city of London had become. Cranes littered the streets and the buildings around them. And in the far distance, he couldn't believe what he saw. On the edge of the city was a collection of large machines collapsed on the ground. Those were the Reapers. And they were dead. They weren't standing over the buildings looking down on the terrorized people bellow engulfing them with their lasers. They were dead, and he had killed them.

They reached the ground floor and made their way to the reception area. Shepard sat down on a couch in the lounge and Liara sat next to him. Their large and intimidating escort stood guard as the both of them waited for Hackett's arrival. After ten minutes, the front doors of the hospital opened and a pair of Alliance soldiers walked through. Behind them, Admiral Steven Hackett walked in. Shepard stood up slowly and raised his hand to salute him.

"At ease Commander," Hackett said. "No need to risk breaking your body for formalities."

Shepard eased his stance and brought his hand down to shack his hand. "It's good to see you sir."

"As it is to see you," Hackett smiled then turned his eyes to Liara. "And to you too Miss T'soni."

"Likewise," Liara said back. "Is it acceptable for the Commander to have company during this?"

"I'll permit it for you two since he already told you his story," Hackett said and looked back at Shepard. "How has your recovery been?"

"I felt like a total mess when I woke up but with her around I was able to get better quicker. And Miranda's been able to fix me up without much trouble."

"Well that's good to know. Shall we get to it?"

"Absolutely," Shepard said.

The Krogan lead the way while the Alliance soldiers followed behind the trio through the lower level of the hospital to the meeting room that was arranged for them. Liara held Shepard's arm as they walked through the halls. When they arrived, they went in while the three soldiers stood guard outside.

The room had two couches facing each other and a small coffee table between them. It also had a large window that looked out to the outside of the hospital. On the streets past the fence of the building's courtyard, Shepard could see the gathering of the people he saw in the recording Tali showed him. Shepard put himself onto the couch with Liara by his side.

"Anything I can get you Shepard?" Hackett asked standing by a coffee and tea tray in the corner of the room.

"Some coffee wouldn't hurt honestly. One Sugar and one cream."

"Anything for you miss T'soni?"

"Some tea would do thank you."

Hackett prepared the drinks and brought them over and placed them on the table including his own coffee brew. Then Hackett sat down with a data pad in his hand.

"Alright then," Hackett tapped data pad and placed it on the table further away from his coffee mug. It was set to record the conversation.

"So we'll start at the point where your story starts. Major Coats gave the report on what happened prior to the charge to the beam. Hammer managed to get to the ground and you were able to bring down the Reaper Destroyer with Thanix missiles. So let's begin about what happened after that."

Shepard took a deep breath and closed his eyes to focus his mind to the final moments he experienced to bring the war to an end.

"We exited our transport when we were within several hundred yards from the beam. Harbinger had come down to the surface and he stood guarding it. Anderson gave the order and we charged. I ran as fast as a could and Harbinger started to vaporize everyone and everything coming down the hill. I was nearly there when a tank was hit and nearly fell on me. Liara and Garrus were following when another tank was launched over me and nearly came down on them."

He looked back at Liara when the memory of seeing her injured so badly came to his mind.

"They were both wounded, Liara badly. I called Joker for an evac so I could get her on board and out of harm's way. Joker arrived and Garrus got her onboard."

The memory of what seemed to be his final goodbye to her stung him a bit. But he shrugged it off.

"I continued the push once they were out of the battle zone. But I was caught off balance out in the open."

Shepard paused. "I don't know how, but after Harbinger's beam came at me, I was laying on my back, alive but barley. When I came to, Harbinger was pulling out and I could hear Coats on the com ordering a retreat. I managed to get up and grab my side arm and I limped my way to the beam. There were a few more husks and a Marauder between me and the beam but I managed to kill them with my sidearm."

"And where did you end up once you made it to the beam?" Hackett asked.

"I wasn't sure. It was a dark hallway. My guess it was a Keeper tunnel. And it had-" Shepard choked when the memories came back to him. The piles of bodies littered around everywhere. It was something that couldn't be described with words themselves.

"It was like those vids of the Holocaust in the 20th. Bodies everywhere and all of them dead. Seeing a vid is one thing but actually being there and smelling it..."

Shepard closed his eyes tightly and bent forward with his fists tightened. Liara placed her hand onto his back to comfort him.

"It's okay Shepard," she said to him. Her voice was soft and gentle and did give him some comfort. Shepard nodded and pulled his head back up. Of all the things Shepard had seen and experienced, that place was the worst. At the Collector base, it was horrifying to see the colonists in the pods being turn into bug juice. But at that time, he had his team behind him to get to the heart of it to destroy it once and for all. But up there on the Citadel, he was badly injured and he was alone. All the confidence he had been diminished with his barrier of bravery and trust in his squad mates gone.

"You've had a lot to endure Commander," Hackett said. "More than anyone person."

"No one should endure anything like that. In fact no one should have endured anything from this war."

"That's why we'll do our best to keep the peace going for as long as it can. So what happened after you arrived?"

"I landed on the floor and nearly lost consciousness. But Anderson called my name."

"So he did make it to the Citadel with you," Hackett said.

"He said he followed me up but we didn't end up in the same place. He told me he was in a hallway like mine and was making his way through it while I walked down the one I was in. There was a door at the end that opened to a chasm with a platform crossing it. It lead to a circular room with a control panel. Anderson was there at it but..."

"But what?"

"The Illusive man was there, too," Shepard said. "His skin was peeling off and his cybernetics showed under them. He was controlling Anderson like a puppet and he grabbed me too. It felt like what Benzia described to me when she was indoctrinated."

Shepard knew that Liara was next to him but her mother was the only person that described indoctrination to him.

"I could hear whispers in my head and it felt like there was something slithering down my spine all the way to every corner of my body. He talked about controlling the Reapers to bring humanity to the apex and dominate the galaxy like he always had. Anderson said he was out of his mind and I did too but he didn't listen. He continued to babble and he got irritated at us until..."

Shepard choked again before he told Hackett what happened next.

"Until he demonstrated his power. I felt his influence run down to my finger... and I pulled the trigger on Anderson."

Shepard told Liara about it before but him saying it again made him feel so bad about himself knowing that it was his gun that put the round into Anderson's torso. He tightened his fists and closed his eyes hard again.

"Shepard, listen to me," Hackett leaned forward from his seat. Shepard opened his eyes to look at him, "You are not the one who was responsible for Anderson's death."

"I know, I know," Shepard inhaled and leaned back into his seat with Liara by his side. "I just... I just miss him."

"He was a good man and a good friend. I know how you feel."

Shepard nodded. He continued.

"After that, I guess I managed to get through to the Illusive man somehow. He started to sound desperate about his goal to control them. But I said that he did what the Reapers wanted because we were fighting each other instead of fighting together."

"I guess the conversation ended up in your favor?"

"It must have because he ended up taking Anderson's sidearm and he put a bullet in his head like Saren did. But he stayed dead this time. Anderson fell to the ground and I could move by myself again. I made it to the counsel and I opened the arms to see Earth and the Crucible coming our way."

"I see," Hackett said. "What happened after that?"

"I sat down with Anderson when it was done. He told me about the view of Earth. 'Best seats in the house' I told him. But he was starting to fade away and I told him to stay with me. Then..."

Shepard choked again.

"He told me I did good. And he was... proud of me."

Shepard dipped his head but nothing else. The gesture told Hackett of what happened after that. The silence stayed for a few second before Shepard pulled his head back up.

"I assume you received my transmission about the Crucible not firing?"

"I heard it. I tried to get back up to the counsel but I couldn't. I passed out. When I woke up, I was somewhere else."

"Where exactly?"

"From what I remember, it looked like the underside of the Citadel tower. Right where the Crucible was docked."

"How'd you end up there?"

"No idea, but I was able to get back on my feet. And it was there that I talked to the Catalyst."

Hackett looked a little surprised from what he said. "You mean the Catalyst was something other than the Citadel?"

Shepard nodded. "The Citadel was its home, from what it said."

"What was the Catalyst exactly?"

"It was the intelligence that Leviathan created," Shepard said. "It was the intelligence that controlled the Reapers."

The pause between them was brief but it got the point across of Hackett's awe and realization.

"So all this time it was there under the Council's feet?"

"Yes," Shepard said. "Does make some sense."

"What did the Catalyst say to you?"

"It told me why it used the Reapers, like Leviathan told me. It told me about the conflict that happened between organic and synthetic life. It was supposed to find a peaceful way for them to co-exist but it had always failed and conflict always happened. So it created the Reapers."

"How did the Reapers solve anything?"

"It said that to preserve life, it created the cycles to have the advanced civilization harvested to create a new Reaper. Once the last of the species is harvested, the new life in the galaxy would take the place of the old flourish until the next harvest."

"So it harvests the civilizations that can create synthetic life so they can no longer create those synthetics that would eventually destroy them and the other organic life forms in the galaxy," Hackett summarized.

"I guess that makes sense. The Prothean VI on Thessia said that the patter of organic and synthetic conflict had been repeated in almost every cycle before."

"Okay," Hackett said. "But how were you able to get the Crucible to fire when you talked to it?"

"The Catalyst said that the Crucible was just a power source but with it docked to the Citadel, the Catalyst had new options. And my being there proved that its solution wouldn't work anymore. It said it needed a new solution and I was the one who could make it happen."

"How exactly?"

"The Crucible was able to unleash the energy it had around the galaxy. But I was the one to choose how it would be dispersed. And there were three ways that could happen. The first was the one I chose."

"The destruction of the Reapers?"

"Yes and all other Synthetic life with them," Shepard gritted his teeth behind his closed lips. "That meant the Geth and EDI would die and I knew about it."

Confessing it again was as painful as telling Joker and the crew that he knew he was killing EDI by doing what he did.

"And what were the other two?"

"Control and Synthesis."

"Control?" Hackett's eye brows lifted. "You mean that you could have actually controlled the Reapers?"

"I didn't know what to make of it. I told the Illusive man he was crazy for even thinking he could do it. When the Catalyst told me I could control them, it said the Illusive man was already under its control and he wouldn't be able to control them. But apparently I could. It told me I'd lose my body but my memories and thoughts would continue and I would see what the Reapers saw. If I had done that, the Geth and EDI would have survived."

The silence between them took a hold before Shepard continued. "But the other solution, synthesis, was the one the Catalyst seemed to have wanted me to choose."

"What exactly was this synthesis option?"

"The Catalyst told me if I added my energy to the Crucible by jumping into the beam, the chain reaction would alter all life in the galaxy. It would merge organic and synthetic life to give both what they wanted."

"Which is what exactly?"

"The Catalyst said that organics seek perfection through technology while synthetics seek perfection through understanding. If I went through with synthesis, organics would be integrated with synthetic technology and synthetics would gain full understanding of organics. The Reapers would stop the harvest by themselves and all the knowledge of the harvested civilizations before this cycle would be connected to everyone. By doing that, the conflict between organic and synthetic would end and we would live together in peace because we would understand each other. The catalyst said that it was the 'Ideal Solution.' I didn't know what to think of it. It was..." Shepard paused.

"Complicated," Hackett finished for him.

"Yeah," Shepard said. "I don't know why but you know what I ended up doing."

"Well, do you believe you made the right choice Shepard?"

_Was there even a right choice?_

"To be honest, I really don't know sir. I thought that I was a dead man whichever one I chose... and with the Geth in the line of fire and one of my teammates in line with them... I don't know. What do you think?"

Shepard felt a chill when the words left his mouth. Why would he ask his opinion and force the conversation to him? But Hackett answered with the same amount of professionalism he always had.

"I wasn't the one who learned about the Crucible's side effects at the time or knew what exactly what would happen when one of the choices would be made. So I believe that my opinion shouldn't be the one for you to take for granted."

"Okay."

"But if you must know what I think I'll tell you. I have said before that controlling the Reapers wouldn't do anyone good and the cost of the Illusive man's experiments at Sanctuary were absolutely not worth the effort. But I will say this, if controlling the Reapers was the only option given, I wouldn't trust anyone else but you to control them."

"You think so?"

"You've had the freedom to abuse your power as a Spectre but you kept to your morals and made the more peaceful and thought out choices to resolve the issues and save more lives. But in that moment on the Citadel, there was the risk of your conscious being altered if you assumed control of them."

"Some of my team said that it probably was another one of the Reapers' tricks to indoctrinate me."

"That may have been the case but we'll never know and I believe it's for the better. Now as for this synthesis option, I'm personally glad you didn't go through with it."

"Why do you think so?"

"I assumed you knew that from all the adventures you've had with your crew. A group of people from different corners of the Galaxy working together to solve different problems. You united the Krogan and Turians and brought the rest of the galaxy together to fight at Earth and to build the Crucible. And in the end, we got the Crucible finished because of everyone's different scientific and technical skills and the fleets were able to be used in their best roles to fight against the Reapers. From what you described about synthesis, it sounds like everyone in the galaxy would inherent every trait from every specie essentially becoming the same species. And there might have been so many unknown variables we couldn't comprehend."

"I guess that's why I ruled that option out when I was there."

Hackett nodded. "As for what's happened already, it's what we all imagined when we would destroy the Reapers. Everyone's working together to rebuild our ways of life in the way we desire. I assume you've seen some vids on the reconstruction efforts?"

"A few, and some interviews."

"And on a note about the Reapers, if the Reapers' purpose was about our conflict with synthetic life, then we should be the ones to deal with that issue ourselves."

"But that's going to be hard to do now that I condemned every Geth to extinction to put down the Reapers."

"They may be gone Shepard, but the lesson you've taught the Quairans and the rest of the galaxy is still here and stronger than ever before. The next time you're on the Extranet, look up some interviews regarding the Geth and you'll see."

Hackett leaned down and tapped the data pad to end the recording.

"I believe we should be done talking about your fate-of-the-galaxy dilemma. It's time you leave this hospital to see what you've done for the Galaxy."

"I'll be happy to do that," Shepard said. After being here for five months unconscious and one week laying in a bed watching vids, he needed to get out and stretch. He stood back up with Liara's help.

Hackett stood with them taking the data pad in his hand.

"How's about we head out for lunch and discuss things other than what we've talked about."

"I'd be honored sir," Shepard looked over at Liara. "If that's alright."

"Absolutely," she said with a smile.

"Then follow me Shepard," Hackett walked out the door with the couple behind him.


	8. Chapter 8

They made their way through the front door. Shepard felt a breeze of fresh air brush across his face as he filled his lungs with it. Unlike the air he remembered when he arrived back in the final battle of London which was tainted by smoke and rotting flesh, the air was pure with the freshness of the newly planted trees.

Shepard looked out to the people gathering around the streets. They were cheering hard and shouting his name. Out of several of the shouts he could actually comprehend, some of them were like the fan girl squeals much like the ones several girls made at his front door when he was throwing the party with his team mates on the Citadel. But other shouts were cheers of triumph.

"Shepard! Shepard! Shepard!" He heard shouted in rhythm.

They made their way to Hackett's sky car. The door and hood opened and an Alliance soldier was at the wheel. Hackett went around to the passenger's seat and Liara an Shepard filed into the back seats. The doors closed and the car lifted off the ground. As the car soured over the streets next to the skyscrapers, both Shepard and Liara looked down at the city below. Shepard did see the Reaper remains at the far a edges of the city but the actual area of the city was cleared of Reapers corpses. That meant the Reapers that fell in the inner parts of the city were dismantled and removed to make way for reconstruction. Now seeing the city without anymore Reapers towering over the buildings and no more guns erupting in the streets below, it made Shepard feel relieved and at peace.

"Isn't it beautiful?" Liara said looking out her window.

"It most certainly is," Shepard said in return.

The car made its way to a medium sized skyscraper. The three of them exited the car and proceed into the building to the elevator and arrived at the restaurant at the top.

"Ah, Hackett and Shepard. Your table is this way," the waiter at the reception desk lead them through restaurant to the balcony outside. They sat down at their table that had a very gorgeous view of the city. But the biggest awe wasn't the city below, it was from above. Up in the clear blue sky was the sight of the Citadel. Shepard remembered seeing the vids of the citadel from the ships in orbit. But he could see it from the surface of the Earth through the blue sky. A new sight for the people on Earth to see in addition to their Moon.

The group looked at their menus and chose their drinks and their courses shortly after. Once the waiter took their orders, Shepard started the conversation.

"How has work been on the Citadel?" He said looking back up at the incomplete station.

"Once we fixed the relays, the focus of the reconstruction has been on Earth and the refugees. But several engineer corps are working on the citadel with some help from Rachni workers and the keepers that are still alive. They're making more progress than we anticipated. In about a year, we'll get the main structure back together while the finer details will take about a decade to fully make all of the damage unnoticeable. "

Hackett looked up at the Citadel. "But largest thing worth noting is that we don't have any means to move it back to the Serpent Nebula. So that means it's stuck here."

"I was wondering about that," Shepard said. "That might cause some concern for some wouldn't it?" The center of galactic power hovering over one of its species home world's might cause some strain among non-humans.

"Maybe. But at this point, people are less concerned about the politics than getting things rebuilt."

"I believe that it might actually be a good thing that it's here," Liara said.

"How so?" Shepard asked her.

"Because it was here that the war was won. And it'll give everyone the chance to see the good in humanity when everyone returns to the Citadel."

"It'll defiantly bring tourists for both the Citadel and Earth, that'll be for sure," Shepard said with a grin. But he looked back at Hackett to change the subject.

"But what about the people who were living on it when it was taken?"

"The survivors were rescued when they fleets returned. We moved them down to the refugee centers set up on Earth. In about a four or five months, we can start moving the Citadel residence back on."

"Were there enough supplies available while you worked on the relays?"

"Thankfully, there were several supplies on the citadel we we're able to recover and the Quarian Live Ships were stocked with enough food for everyone especially for the Turians and the Quarians themselves. Once we've got the Relays opened, the supply chains were able to be reestablished and the materials we needed started to flow again."

Shepard looked out to the city. "From the looks here, you've done good so far."

"Even better than we hoped. With several of the other race's engineer's coming over, we've been able to reconstruct around the world and even improve the cities."

"Improve them in what way?"

"The Alliance has decided that now's the best time to tackle the problem that the nations of the world were reluctant to do. The slums in major urban areas are being removed and replaced with standardized housing. Hopefully when the economy of Earth starts back up, there will be less kids in poverty and less crime. You'd probably appreciate that."

Having been raised on the streets and living a life of crime, Shepard did appreciate that the Alliance was taking steps to reduce the amount of people in poverty. When he returned to the Citadel to meet with Anderson after he was brought back by Cerberus, he heard a news report talking about the "Shepard Memorial Scholarship" that was used to get dozens of children a chance to enlist in the Alliance military and pursue a college education. One small step for the kids to have a better life. And now the Alliance was taking a bigger step.

"Taking the Shepard Memorial Scholarship to the next level?" Shepard asked.

"It's a better time for that than ever before," Hackett said. "And frankly we'll need all the people we can get to do their part in the reconstruction in the coming years. With less people on the streets, they'll be able to contribute in more ways than they could have."

"Zaeed told me he was doing some cleaning up in areas around Earth where warlords were starting to come around," Shepard said.

"From the reports we got when Anderson was holding out, the leaders of underdeveloped countries, mostly in Africa, were manipulated by the Reapers so as to weaken their defenses and cause the people to fight amongst each other. The warlords took advantage in the chaos and now that the Reapers are gone, there is a chance they'll attempt to cease power but they won't succeed. Once everything is rebuilt, the nations can now be granted their new leaders and be able to gain access to the resources and technology to make it possible to prosper."

Shepard grinned and nodded. From news vids he saw when he was recovering, he learned that out of the 11.4 billion people that lived on Earth, over 4 billion perished when the Reapers laid waste to the planet. Most of them fell from the harvest itself but the infighting took its toll especially with the underdeveloped nations that didn't have the technology or the care the higher nations had for their citizens. Now with the Alliance and the other races working to rebuild, every nation now had a chance to be developed and prosper.

"What about the colonies?" Shepard asked.

"After most of the relays were fixed, we've attempted a massive re-colonization of the worlds. We've gotten an influx of people heading to Eden Prime, Elysium and Terra Nova to restart agricultural process."

"I suppose several refugees and street dwellers signed up for it?"

"Yes they did. Without the bureaucratic walls keeping people from leaving, and our need of people to get to work to get resources flowing again, they couldn't wait to get off planet."

Many of the street dwellers Shepard was familiar with had nearly no chance to get off planet. They were stuck in the streets fighting each other to survive like the people who couldn't pay for a shuttle ticket off of Omega.

"And I assumed you were told by Ms. T'soni about the new world the Normandy found in the Arcturus stream?" Hackett asked.

"Kaidan told me of the chance discovery."

"Well that planet's been an issue that the races have been talking about. And now we've come up with an agreement to have it be the first multiracial colony."

"Really?" Shepard was surprised.

"It has some Turians, Salerians and others coming in but the largest groups are humans and Batarians."

Shepard was surprised when he heard the word Batarian. The race that openly despised humanity the most now sharing a world with humanity and the other races?

"Is everything going okay with them?"

"Surprisingly so, thanks to you."

"Me?" Shepard said. "Most Batarians I've come across looked like they wanted to kill me on sight."

"Some are still holding a grudge about the Bahak system but the majority have eased their feuds like the Krogan had with the Turians. After the Reapers ravaged the Batarians out of the gate, their government was in shambles and almost non-existent. After you've managed to get them on our side, they've been experiencing some changes."

"What's going on with them now?"

"The Hegemony's gone. What's left of the Batarian people are now forming a new Batarian Republic."

"Well that's something I find hard to believe," Shepard said.

"It was a little rocky but their dwindled numbers and their desperation made them open for change. And with the help of Grothan Pazness, the Republic's been taking shape and relationships have started to get better."

"I remember pulling Pazness from Cholis after we received his distress call on our way to find Leviathan."

"He's been a watchful leader for the Batarian refugees and now that the fighting's done he's been elected the new leader of the Republic, one of the only capable leaders left."

Their meals arrived and they started to eat. After a while, Hackett continued the conversation.

"And because we have a better relationship with the Batarians, and since you've cured the Genophage, we're going to have less pirates and slavers in the future."

"Really?"

"Now that the Hegemony's gone, the funds they've put into the terrorist cells are no longer flowing in. What's more, Pazness has been doing away with the slavery aspect of the Batarian culture."

"That'd be pretty hard to do. Has he been successful so far?"

"They were reluctant at first but with Pazness's inspirational reputation and his openness with the council races, he's been able to get the majority to support him. In his eyes, the war caused a great force upon everyone and that force was meant to be a force for change. And because of what you did for the rest of the galaxy, that's the change he's been following. And now with the Genophage cured and Wrex and Bakkara gathering the Krogan together, they have less reasons to become mercenaries for slavers and pirates. In fact several of the Krogan Mercinaries had returned to Tuckunka to rebuild their home and start the first Krogan families in centuries."

That was one of the things Shepard hoped to accomplish when Wrex told him that a cure for the Genophage was possible and he wanted it done if he were to help the Turians. Prior to the drop to the Shroud to release the cure, the Salerian Dalatrass told Shepard the Shroud was Sabotaged and Mordin would figure out how to fix it. It was then that she tried to persuade Shepard to deal with Mordin to prevent the cure from being dispersed and trick the Krogan into thinking the Genophage was cured. In return, the Salerians would give the Commander their fleets and their scientists. But Shepard knew that he needed to cure the Genophage for a number of reasons. One, the Krogan needed the cure to have a chance to be more than mercenaries to be used for anyone's purposes. Two, Wrex would have known if the cure was sabotaged and Shepard couldn't betray him after everything they've been through. Three, on a hunch, Shepard hoped the war would put pressure on the Salerians to have them join the effort even with the Genophage cured. And that hope came true after the failed Cerberus coup. Half of the Salerians joined the fight while others still stayed behind. And now it was over, Shepard was concerned about the half that tried to get him to betray his friend.

"Then our main concern are the Salerians, right?" Shepard asked.

"It would be, but that problem's taking care of itself," Hackett looked over at Liara. Shepard turned his attention to her.

"I've kept the recording of the conversation you had with the Dalatrass," she said. "If they try to do anything that would undermine our efforts with the reconstruction efforts or ruin the bridges we're making, I'll release it to the public."

"Isn't that dangerous?" Shepard said with concern. "Many Krogan would get angry if they knew that the leader of the Salerians tried to keep me and Mordin from saving their species."

"It would," Liara said. "But since most of the Salerian people are taking the side of the military and not the politicians of the Salerian Union, the Dalatrass is losing credibility. Since the Krogan are now in a favorable light, the recording would put the Dalatrass down for good. But with the public disappointment of the salerian reluctance to give full support in the war effort, the majority of the salerians are taking your side against the Dalatrass and the current leaders of the Union. So in the end, I won't need to use blackmail to break them down piece by piece."

"I get the feeling that there's something else you're not telling me."

"Well, I have that recording we stumbled upon on Surkesh of their plans to uplift the Yahg. If they try to do that, I'll release their secret."

The Yahg, the primitive race that was the race the former Shadow Broker was. And the thought of having them uplifted by the Salerians, it would be a living nightmare for Liara.

"The Krogan rebellions were bad enough. The last thing we need is a Yahg rebellion."

"My thoughts exactly," Liara said.

They continued their meal and Shepard moved on to the next question.

"So what is the situation now for the piracy and slavers with the Batarians and Krogan out of the picture? Liara's told me about Aria's contributions in supplying materials for the reconstruction and keeping the Blue Suns, Eclipse and Blood Pack on a leash. But what about the other ones?"

"There's several things going on with that, actually," Hackett said. "The Reaper presence in the Terminus systems put many of the merc groups to work and many of them perished leaving only several independent groups open for business. Now with the system opened up, we're gaining a foothold to colonize the worlds and establish strong enough defenses."

"Will Aria be upset that we're expanding on her turf?"

"Aria's hands are fuller with Omega hers again and she's claimed more power with the other mercenaries gone or under her control," Liara said. "She's allowing the expansion into the Terminus systems because it'll grant her more customers to sell her materials to. And she's using the three merc groups primarily for security at her mining facilities."

"She won't need a demand for slaves, will she?"

"She's made public statements that she's going to keep standards for her 'employees' because of her new 'customer service' approach," Liara said. "Her laborers consist of mostly Vorcha who joined her voluntarily while other Terminus residents are getting work from her."

The Vorcha. The race of ugly looking aliens who looked like goblins and imps from human fantasy stories.

"How are the Vorcha?"

"They're basically the same as they were before," Liara said. "They still have no single government and still fight amongst each other for resources. But since the Blood Pack is under control the damage they can cause to others besides themselves will be minimal. I have some plans on contributing basic resources to them to keep them relatively quite for as long as I can."

Though Shepard had seen how violent the Vorcha were when he fought them, he couldn't help but feel sorry for them. The short lifespan really caused them to be impulsive and aggressive.

"I only wish there was something we could do for them."

"We do too," Liara said. "But their short lived lifestyles prevent them from making social progress. But after everything that happened and after what you accomplished, people are more open to accept them in societies than before. It's not large progress but it's a step in the right direction."

Hackett moved the conversation back to the subject of the Terminus systems. "As for the situation on the Terminus systems and the potential threats that might come to any council species, we've been initiating the Galactic N7."

"You mean the group of fighters around the Galaxy that went out on those raids and assaults against the Reapers and Cerberus?"

"The N7 Special Ops earned its reputation very well in the theater of war and with your image of diverse people working together, their own image has been vindicated. It's now being renamed the Galactic N7 and it'll be put to work against threats if they come about. But with Aria conducting good business with us with her control over most of Terminus, we'll run into less trouble than we had before."

"And if there are potential new mercenary groups that arise, I'll know about them and I'll let them know too," Liara said.

"Has the GN7 done anything since the end of the war?"

"They've already done some raids on several of the remaining Cerberus facilities littered around the galaxy."

"What are we finding now that the Illusive man is out of the picture?"

"I've tracked down the remains of Cerberus with ease now that Cronos station was put out of commission," Liara said. "They're easier to find with their leader gone. "

"But here's the interesting part," Hackett said. "An N7 operation was sent to investigate a lab in the Terminus system. When the operatives arrived, the opposition was already dead."

"How so?"

"The Reaper tech they implanted into their soldiers was the cause," Hackett said. "After the Crucible fired, the ones with Reaper tech in their head had died when the implants overloaded. The team made it through with no opposition and the scientists inside surrender when the team came upon them. Now with the Reapers gone and Cronos Station out of action, what's left is to collect the stragglers and bring them to justice. Several scientists and other contributors had come out and surrendered themselves already. Cerberus is dead and you put the knife through their heart."

"That's what I told the Illusive man when we recovered the Prothean VI," Shepard said. "But he said that Cerberus was an idea and ideas can't easily be destroyed."

"It's an idea that's outdated and no longer relevant," Hackett said. "With all the horrid things they've done, what's left of the xenophobes know better than to trust anything that is affiliated with the idea."

"Essentially Shepard," Liara said. "You've destroyed the idea with the organization."

"I'm glad I did. Cerberus was nothing more than a bad example of the human race. But I'm more concerned about their experiments. I hope it doesn't reach others like ExoGeni."

The first experiments of mind control on people started with ExoGeni's research of the Thorian creature under the Colony of Zhu's hope on Feros. After Shepard killed the creature and managed to save the colony, he discovered that a group was experimenting on infected subjects to make them the mythical "obedient servant." It just disgusted Shepard that a corporation was going out of its way to find the key to make a perfect soldier to serve only one cause and never question orders. And then Cerberus found that formula with Reaper tech and implanted innocent people with it to make them into slaves of combat.

"ExoGeni won't be doing any of that," Liara said. "I already have access to their network. Very easy to get through to them even before the war started. They won't be able to perform any more unethical experiments on innocent victims."

"Do you have tabs on Binary Helix too?"

"And every other major corporation. We don't need bureaucracy dictating our future anymore."

"I'm inclined to agree with that," Hackett said. "And on that note of indoctrination experiments, I believe it's no longer possible to replicate what Cerberus did."

"Why's that?"

"Cerberus used Reaper technology to be implanted into people to have them obey Cerberus's orders without question. But you know that Cerberus's victims were obeying the Reaper's orders. No one other than Reapers can use indoctrination and have control."

Hackett looked out to the city, focusing his attention to the Reaper corpses out in the distance.

"From reports and studies done on the dead Reapers around the galaxy, the materials of Reaper technology are no longer emanating electromagnetic fields. We assume since there are no more living Reapers left, there are no ways for organics to be indoctrinated ever again. But we're being cautious with the workers while we dismantle the Reaper bodies and remove them."

Shepard felt a little relieved with the news. But then the thoughts of the ones who were already indoctrinated came to his mind.

"But what about the people who were indoctrinated before I activated the Crucible? Surely there had to be some of them still around."

"We did have reports of people blacking out and saying they didn't know how they got to where they were. We assume those people were indoctrination victims and with the Reapers gone, the indoctrinated people that were not infused with synthetic technology were freed from the indoctrination."

"That's good to know," Shepard said. With everything he saw, he was glad that indoctrination was no longer a part of the galaxy.

"Things are looking up Shepard," Hackett said. "A big part thanks to you."

"Well I'm glad to have enlisted to help," Shepard smiled. If he hadn't been able to survive on the streets and get into the Military, the accomplishments that he achieved wouldn't have happened. He wouldn't have hold of the Batarians at Elysium. He wouldn't have become the first human Spectre and stop Saren and his skim to unleash the reapers on the Galaxy. He wouldn't have been brought back by Cerberus to save humanity from the Collectors. He wouldn't have been there to unite the Galaxy against the Reapers and to break the Cycles once and for all.

They continued eating until they finished their meals.

"Thank you for the meal sir," Shepard said.

"It's been my pleasure, Commander," Hackett said. "Although I might need to get used to call you Admiral now."

Shepard was silent and still when he heard the word "Admiral."

"Yes," Hackett replied to Shepard's silence. "There was a reason I wanted to talk to you after our debrief."

"You're promoting me sir?"

"Why not? You just saved the Galaxy for a third time in a row and you put an end to the Reapers for good. In fact, I would have promoted you after you took down the Collectors. But..."

"My work with Cerberus kept it from happening."

"That and I personally believed that you needed to stay a Commander to do what you needed to do when the Reapers arrived. But now that it's over, you're no longer needed on the frontlines. It's the best time for this."

Shepard was still at a loss for words. Him? An Admiral?

"Permission to speak freely sir?" Shepard said.

"No permission is necessary."

"What could I do as an Admiral? Paperwork and directing soldiers to their deaths while I sit back and watch it happen isn't the kind of work I'm cut out for."

"That's why I pushed for the rank now that the fire's died down," Hackett said. "In these times, people are needing inspiration to build a better future. You were the one who led the ones who gave their lives for that future and with you as an admiral, you can influence the people to keep on this course and you can do it without lifting a finger. In essence, it's only symbolic. But I know that you're not planning on fighting anyone anymore now that it's over. So this position is basically an accommodation for you if you decide to retire anytime soon."

Shepard looked over at Liara. She was surprised as he was about Hackett's proposal. The promise he made to her about the little blue children came to his mind and he could see Liara had the same thoughts from the look in her eyes. Shepard looked back at Hackett.

"To be honest sir," Shepard said. "After so many years of killing, I've had enough of war. And now that I found another purpose to my life, I want to see if I can live in peace for once."

"And nobody blames you for it. You disserve a life of peace after everything you've done for all of us."

"Thank you sir," Shepard said.

"However Shepard, there's something that I want to tell you."

"What is it?"

"Since you're an admiral, I no longer give you the orders. You make them. But I can give you suggestions."

"As a friend?"

"More or less. Now that the war is over, it's basically the time for memorials and inspirational speeches and endless handshakes."

Shepard closed his eyes and tilted his head back. He knew this was coming.

"Am I going to have to make a speech sometime soon?" he looked back at Hackett.

"Now that you're awake, the leadership of the races can formally gather for the ceremony we've planned at the memorial by where you entered the beam. However, it'll take a few weeks to organize the service and get everyone to the gathering. There's time for you to comprehend the great things you've accomplished."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying you should go out on a personal tour of victory around the galaxy. You should see what the Krogan are doing now the Genophage is cured. See what the people of Terra Nova and Elysium are doing in honor of your brave actions. And perhaps both of you should head to Thessia to see how it's doing. And I think it'll give you some inspiration for your victory speech when you return."

"That does sound good sir," Shepard said. "But how will I get to those places."

"Well how do you think?"

Shepard stayed silent and when he figured it out, he stayed silent for a little more.

"The Normandy?"

"It's your ship Shepard," Hackett said.

_Mine?_

"You're giving it to me?"

"I'm not. Your an admiral so you can claim whatever ship you want. So if you want the Normandy back, you go right ahead and take it. But I've encouraged the Alliance to have you keep it when you retire. It's yours to cruse the galaxy where ever you want to go."

Hearing what Hackett said sounded too good to be true.

"Why would I want to keep it?" Shepard said. "The Normandy's place is with the Alliance Military. It's not meant to be my personal yacht."

"Then you can assign it to do whatever you want to do when you're not on it. I assume Major Alanko has your trust in handling the ship."

"I told him there was no one else I trust more to handle the Normandy than him."

"Once you settle down, you can make sure Alanko commands the Normandy for its future purposes."

"Of course," Shepard said. "But I'm concerned about the pilot of the ship."

"Yes. I've heard about Lieutenant Moreau's depression of the death of the ship's AI. I understood that he grew close to her and now that you told me of what happened with the Crucible, I understand his state. But I've seen this behavior before and it won't stay for long. He'll come up to you and forgive you and he might even apologize for the rude behavior he might have given either of you."

Shepard looked back at Liara. She was the one who took the rude behavior. She looked back at Shepard and nodded at him telling him that she believed Hackett's prediction would happen.

"Okay, so when am I to head out?"

"Once the ownership is passed to you, you can head out whenever you want. But I know there are a few things you want to do here before you leave."

"Kaidan said you were holding the service for Anderson until I woke up."

"I can arrange for that to happen in a few days if you have a speech ready for him."

"I can just speak my mind and I think it'll work," Shepard said. "But in the mean time, I promised Jacob Taylor to meet with him and perhaps some of my crew mates in Rio for a drink. After that and after the funeral, I'll return to the Normandy."

"That'd be good. Some fresh air and sunshine would do nicely." Hackett stood up as Shepard and Liara did the same.

"Thank you sir," Shepard shook Hackett's hand.

"My pleasure, Shepard," said Hackett. "And on a personal note, you no longer have to call me sir. We're of the same rank so formalities are no longer necessary."

"I'll try not to do that even though I've gotten used to it," Shepard smiled. "I'll meet with you later."

Hackett smiled and nodded. Shepard and Liara walked out of the restaurant to the elevator. The doors closed and the elevator descended. The pair immediately turned to each other and they embraced each other.

"I'm so proud of you Shepard," Liara said to him.

"Thank you, Liara," Shepard said back to her.

* * *

**Author's Note:** As you can see I've been poking around with the little details that Mass Effect 3 mentioned and left open. For those who didn't know, Grothan Pazness was one of the side War Assets included in the Leviathan DLC. His description said he was a former Xenophobe, like Batarians are in general, who decided to open up to the council races when the war started to look after what was left of his people. So I took that part into my story to bring about the element that ME3 left open.

Also you saw my little nod to Multiplayer. I saw the description for N7 Special Ops Team: _Allied forces are recruiting anyone, soldier or mercenary, smart, fast, and tough enough to survive galactic war. The most experienced operatives form squads to secure objectives, evacuate civilians, and battle Cerberus or the Reapers deep in enemy territory._

When I read this, I immediately thought of Rainbow Six. A multiracial militant group working together to fight the enemy where it hurts. So I gave a little nod to that.

And now I will say I'm initiating the real story and it'll pick up. However, I will say that updates might become slower due to upcoming classes and work schedules and other stories I've promised to get to. But rest assured, I will keep giving this story my all because this is for the fans who've stayed on board 'til and after the end of the greatest Sci-fi franchise of all time. As always, please leave a review to tell me what you think. See you in next chapter next Sunday. :)


	9. Chapter 9

The sight of Rio was one that few words could describe. With the environmental and social issues the nation of Brazil faced, the city took a toll on its surroundings and its people. Many of the Slums had expanded out over the hills and even folded over itself with houses and streets stacked over each other. But when humanity learned Mass Effect technology and expanded to the stars, the City and the nations experienced some drastic, if not immediate changes. The slums were still expanding with many people homeless but the nation started efforts to regain its beauty and soul. Only roughly a third of the original Amazon rainforest had remained after the constant deforestation declined after first contact. Because the ground was scorched and unable to be restored to harbor life on its own, scientists started to examine the soil and attempted to find ways to re-enrich the soil so the Amazon could expand again to where it once reached out. It made some little progress and the Salerian's popular terraforming plant Burngrass helped out in the recent years after first contact.

As for the city now, the buildings were under construction and many of the slums that were growing on the hillsides were being demolished in favor of standardized and planed housing. Most of the citizens were evacuated from the city when the Reapers arrived and were moved to camps spread around the country so not too many people would be caught together when the Reapers cornered a group of refugees. Now five months later, the people were starting to come back in to help rebuild while others volunteered to head out to the colonies to start a new life and contribute to the agricultural reform.

Shepard's shuttle arrived to the city in the mid-afternoon the day after he was released from the hospital. He called Jacob and he gave the address of the bar. Before Shepard left to meet with Jacob, he checked into the hotel room that was reserved for him. Like he expected, Shepard was given a night in the penthouse, free of charge. Once Shepard and Liara put their belongings into the closet and settled in, they dressed for the night.

Shepard changed into his N7 leather jacket outfit while Liara, on the other hand, decided to try out a new look. She dawned a dark turquoise tank top with a pair of tan cargo shorts.

"Wow," Shepard said seeing her. "You look good."

"You mean my outfit?" Liara smiled mockingly. "Or just me in general?"

"Well I guess it can mean both ways," Shepard walked up to her. "Although I might get a little concerned if this becomes a habit."

"You mean I continue to dress like this and I might become less like an Asari and more like a human?"

"The out-of-this-world part of you is what turns me on," Shepard approached her and gave her a soft kiss on the side of her crest. "But for now, I'm fine with you being closer to home. Well... my home to be specific."

Liara chuckled playfully and gave a kiss back. They went their way from the hotel to the streets below. The streets were busy with several Alliance personnel stationed around the city interacting with several of the locals. There were several aliens in the streets too. Most of them were military helping out with the reconstruction while some were regular civilians. Before the Reapers arrived, there were a handful of non-humans on Earth, either tourists or business people. The xenophobia from the local residence gave a lot of tension about the visitors and that kept many non-humans from having residence on the planet. But now, the tension seemed to be relaxed. After experiencing hell for weeks, the people were happy to have help in any way possible.

Shepard and Liara continued down the streets until they turned the corner. They looked over at the bar which was rather large and sat yards away from the local beach. At the front door, Jacob was waiting and Shepard saw he was talking to Garrus.

"Hey Shepard," Jacob said. "Glad you can make it."

"Wouldn't miss it," Shepard said. He looked over at Garrus. "Glad to see you've come along too. Any others?"

"A few," Garrus said. "This is our unofficial celebration of victory over the Reapers, so many of us couldn't miss out on it. But now it's got another purpose."

Garrus straightened his posture and gave a less-than-serious salute to Shepard.

"We welcome you, Admiral Shepard."

Shepard chuckled before he said, "At ease, Vakarian."

And Garrus did so.

"So you've heard about that, huh?"

"Mostly everyone knows," Jacob said. "And that's why they're eager to start the night off. It won't start until you come in."

He was the party starter. How typical.

"We shouldn't keep everybody waiting then, should we?" Liara said.

"Yeah," Garrus said. "But before you come in, there's something that you need to settle first."

"Settle?" Shepard asked. What did he mean?

Garrus moved from the door and opened it. Shepard looked inside to see a familiar and unexpected face. Joker stood up from the bench inside and walked out onto the porch.

"Hey Commander," Joker said in a rather absent and depressed tone. The last time Shepard saw Joker in his hospital room, Joker's face showed so much conflict with sadness, anger and depression from learning that Shepard knew that he was going to kill EDI from the choice he made. But now, his face showed much of the same things but it showed it wasn't in Shepard's direction.

"We'll wait inside until you're finished," Garrus said before he and Jacob walked into the bar leaving the trio on the porch. The silence stood between them for a minute while the tension between them tugged at each of them. Liara was the one who broke the ice.

"Joker..."

"Hey Liara..." Joker said still sounding distant and depressed. "You doing okay?"

"Yes," Liara said after a pause. "I believe I am."

"Good. I'm happy for you," He moved his eyes from Liara to Shepard. "For both of you. And I mean that."

Hearing Joker's tone sounded like he meant what he said. It wasn't a light hearted joke tone like he always used after almost every mission. It was a serious tone that showed he was serious about what he said.

"Joker, I..." Shepard began to speak.

"It wasn't your fault," Joker said immediately before Shepard could continue. "You had to do what you needed to do."

He looked at Liara again.

"And I am so sorry I said those things to you, Liara. That wasn't me," his head was now bent down in shame. "I shouldn't have done that. You didn't blamed me and I shouldn't have blamed you or him."

"It's okay Joker," Liara said. "I know you didn't mean any of that. I forgive you."

"Thanks," Joker said. "It means a lot."

After another pause, Liara looked over at Shepard.

"I'll wait inside if that's okay."

The thing that happened between her and Joker was settled so all that remained was between Shepard and Joker.

"Go on a head," Shepard nodded and she went inside leaving the pilot and Commander-now-Admiral alone outside. Both of them walked over to the side of porch and sat on the bench at the edge of it. Shepard looked over at Joker once they sat down.

"Joker, I want you to know that if there had been another way, I would have..." Shepard trailed off on the last word.

"I know," Joker said. "I know you don't like leaving your people behind and I know you felt the same for EDI. But to be honest sir, now that you told us about the other ways you could have gone, you shouldn't have risked the fate of the galaxy for her life. And don't let me make you feel bad about your relationship with Liara. If only one of us was going to have a happily ever after, you should be the one to have it."

"Joker..."

"Just hear me out, okay?" Joker said before Shepard could continue again. Shepard nodded and listened to what Joker had to say. "You've had to endure all the hell on the ground and make all the difficult decisions that'll no doubt haunt you for almost ever. And you died already saving me when I was stupid enough to not abandon ship. When Liara learned you didn't make it..." Joker paused with the emotional conflict brewing in his throat. "She blamed herself. I wanted her to put all the blame on me because I thought it was my fault. But she didn't do any of that. She didn't take it out on me because it wasn't any of our faults. It's been the Reapers' fault the whole time."

Joker pause to let what he said sink in. Shepard could hear the anger in Joker's tone but it wasn't directed at Shepard but at the things that were responsible for everything that happened.

"I know that you regret a lot of things," he continued. "Ashley. The Bahak system and all the people that died in this war. But I don't blame you for EDI. I want you to believe that."

It took a little moment for Shepard to take it in and accept it but he managed to say, "If you say so Joker."

"I do say so," Joker said. "You weren't the one who made the plans for the Crucible. The people of the cycles before us did and they did their best to make the people of the next cycle complete it to do what they all wanted to do. And you did what they wanted you to do. You blew the assholes to hell. I'm glad you did what you did. And I mean that."

"Thanks Joker," Shepard said. "But even with that, I know that it still hurts."

"Yeah, it does," Joker said with emotional pain in his voice. "But now that I've gotten a chance to clear my head and think about it, I think if EDI knew about what would have happened, she would've wanted you to choose what you did."

"You think so?"

"She told me about that conversation she had with you about the prisoners and about her willing to die for you if it needed to happen. In fact I don't think, I know she would have chosen what you did if she was up there with the Crucible. And those other two choices just seemed like Reaper traps to me now that I think about it."

"Not even synthesis?" Shepard asked. "If it worked like the Catalyst said it would, maybe it'd bring you and EDI closer together. Maybe it could have solved your medical condition."

Shepard was trying to imply humor a little too hard he found out. But Joker did grin for a moment with a small chuckle in his throat.

"Yeah well you'd actually done more harm than good with that. We've been fighting to destroy Harbinger and his friends and that's what you did. It's better off that we do things on our own even if it'll be harder. We've built all this and made our alliances and friendships by ourselves and from here on it'll only get better. You've done a lot of good things, Shepard. And I'm happy for that and for you because you can see what you've accomplished."

Hearing Joker's words gave Shepard some pause to think about what he said. He knew about all the things surrounding him and how he had managed to forge the great alliances to fight the enemy together and settle century old feuds within a matter of days. But when he heard about it from the pilot of his ship, he really felt moved because of what happened between them. Right now, Shepard felt the tension between him and Joker had diminished and he felt like Joker had truly forgiven him.

"Are you going to be alright?" Shepard asked.

"I've gone through what Liara already went through. I'll be alright. But I want you to do me one thing, okay?"

"What's that?"

"Don't let yourself feel bad about being with Liara because of me. Promise me that you'll live a happy life with her. You deserve it."

"I'll do my best."

"Thanks Shepard," Joker said. The silence between them stay until Shepard looked back at Joker.

"So. Are we good?"

"We're alright," Joker said as he stood up followed by Shepard. "Come on, let's not keep the party from starting any longer."

They walked through the door into the bar. Shepard looked around at the interior and was impressed with its design. It was a wooden frame work with several holographic neon lights and a glass ceiling to see the sky. Shepard noticed that there were retractable blinds that were able to block the ceiling during daylight when the sun was peering in. Right now, late afternoon approaching dusk, the view of the clear sky was not glaring with the suns beams blocking it. Soon, when the sun would set, the patrons would be able to see the stars above.

Straight ahead was the actual bar where the drinks were served while there were several tables around the first level and the balconies above. There was a wide open dance floor with a stage for instrument players. There were several people around at the tables already and there was soft music playing from a modernized holographic jukebox in the corner.

Joker and Shepard made their way to the bar to find Garrus. When he saw them coming he came to them.

"So did you sort it out?"

"It's no longer going to be an issue," Joker said. "We can get the party started without any setbacks."

"Alright," Garrus said "Right this way."

They followed Garrus up to the bar where several failure faces were waiting. Shepard saw Liara with Tali along with James, Kaiden, Miranda, and Kasumi. Then Shepard recognized more faces.

"Shepard!" Samantha Traynor ran up to him to give him a hug. Thankfully she slowed down and embraced him gently. "I am so happy to see you up and about. I was worried like everyone else. I wish I could have been there after you woke up."

Shepard smiled. "Well at least we're meeting now."

"I guess that works."

He looked over to see more of the crew standing around. Greg Adams, Karin Chakwas, Kenneth Donnelly, Gaby Daniels and Steve Cortez were standing at the bar with Liara and the others. "Shepard," Cortez walked up first and gave Shepard a pat on the shoulder. "Hey Steve," giving him a pat back. "How're you doing?" "Much better seeing you out of the hospital. We're sorry that I haven't been able to come over."

"Been busy?"

"I've done a lot of cargo runs with the Normandy since you put the Reapers down. And when the Normandy was dry docked, I got requests for supply runs around the planet."

"Well I'm glad you helped out," Shepard said. "You've been doing the same Traynor?"

"Yeah and the rest of the crew found their ways to help out once the Normandy took a break."

The next people to come up were Adams, Gabby and Kenneth.

"Great to see you up and about Commander. Or should I say Admiral," Adams gave a salute when he said the word.

"To be honest I'm taking my time adjusting to the title," Shepard said. "So what have all of you been up to?"

"We stayed on the Normandy for the most part to make sure she still purrs like a kitten," Kenneth said.

"But when we weren't, we decided to go out to help out with other ships coming in needing repairs," Gabby said.

"Well I'm glad you're doing all your parts," Shepard grinned when a reminder came to him. "And I'm curious. How it's been between you two."

"Wha-" Kenneth said abruptly. "What do you mean?"

"He's talking about 'us' Kenneth," Gabby stepped in. "He knows about it. So don't pretend he doesn't know."

"Uh, right...," Kenneth looked back at Shepard. "Well it's been pretty good."

"How good?" Shepard inquired.

Since Kenneth was always reluctant to answer, Gabby stepped in yet again. "We went on a date after the Normandy caught a break."

"Dinner?" Shepard asked.

"Yeah, yeah," Kenneth said with a nervous tone still. "It was pretty fun."

All Shepard could do was smile at the adorable couple that came to be aboard the ship he served on.

"Well, then I wish you two the best."

The last person to come up was Chakwas.

"Chakwas, I'm happy to see you."

"I'm happier seeing you still alive and walking with purpose. When we returned to Earth I helped out with your operation with Miranda and I'm glad my efforts contributed to you keeping your life this time."

Shepard looked up to the bartender breaking out the drinks for everyone. "I suppose this wouldn't count for that brandy we promised to share will it?"

"No it won't," Chakwas said. "But we'll share the one I still have on the Normandy once you get back to her."

"Consider it done." Shepard turned his attention to the rest of his crewmates. He received their hugs and pats until he made it to Jacob.

"So are we done with greetings Shepard?" Jacob asked.

"For now, unless you know if there are others are coming. Would Brynn have wanted to come?"

"As much as she wanted to, she felt she needed to keep herself somewhere quiet for the sake of the baby. This place does serve non-alcoholic beverages but the music might cause some disturbances."

"I understand," Shepard said. "But to be honest the music isn't that loud."

"That's because you didn't come in yet," Jacob looked away and raised his hands up to someone at the other side of the bar. After a few seconds the jukebox stopped playing it's music and several people appeared on the stage. Several of them carried traditional Earth instruments; an acoustic guitar, conga drums, steel drums and there was one who brought a synthesizer onto the stage. One of the people in the band activated his Omni-tool and the speakers around the bar chirped in.

"HELLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO ladies and gents!" The singer spoke into his Omni-microphone with a powerful and energetic voice with a heavy South American accent. "Are you ready for some fun this evening?"

The people in the bar cheered.

"Then you're in luck because we have a very special guest tonight."

The neon holograms and lights flashed around the room until they all dimmed down. All except for a single light that shown down on the floor. And it was the one that shown right above Shepard. Everyone turned their heads to him before the singer continued.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you the hero of Elysium, the savior of the Citadel, the slayer of the Reapers... and last but certainly not least, the savior of the Galaxy. Mister Commander Shepard!"

The people in the bar cheered with an applause and load whistles.

"Oh. Pardon me I must have gotten that wrong. It's not Commander Shepard. It's Admiral Shepard! Ladies and gents, Admiral Shepard!"

The customers cheered again except a little louder. Shepard smiled from the excitement that rubbed off on him.

"On behalf of our band and every soul in the milky way, we want to thank you for your dedication to fight for all of us. To fight not just for humanity, but for humanity and all of our friends from across the stars. Tonight we hope to give you and everyone here a great time to remember. But before we start I want to make a request to our lovely patrons here tonight. Shepard went into the depths of hell to save us all from being pulled into it. So I ask you give him some space so he can enjoy the evening with his friends."

Several of the people laughed while a few cheered and applauded.

"Okay Shepard. Everyone's ready to party. Are you? 'Cause this celebration starts with your approval. So will you do us the honor and officially approve us to kick this off?"

Shepard looked around to see the faces of the people around him brimming with anticipation. After a second, Shepard looked back at the singer with a smile and gave a nod to him.

"Alright people!" he shouted into his microphone. "LET'S GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" And just like that, the party had started.

* * *

**Author's note:** I'll tell you this chapter was a bit of an effort to get right. But regardless I've managed to put it together and I really hope you enjoyed it.

And I have to say this. PLEASE GIVE ME REVIEWS. This week I've been rather reluctant to write this chapter because of the lack of feedback. I need to know that I'm doing a good job otherwise I might not be able to continue this story. And that'd be bad because of the surprise I have in store for you in a few chapters.

I don't mean to pressure you or anything, but if you read this story, visitor or member, favorite or alert, please leave a word or two about what I'm doing good. Tell me if I'm doing a good job with the elements of nostalgia. I need to know.

Please leave me feedback and I'll be able to get to the surprise I have in store for you. I won't say what it is, only that it'll make you cheer as loud as you can when you read it. See you next week.


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